


Sweet Dreams

by Mayurei



Series: With Eyes Wide Open [1]
Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Canon Divergent, Car Accidents, Compliant with the anime, F/M, Fluff, Force Choking, Found Family Dynamic, I just wanted Naru to have spicy dreams about Mai okay?, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, Naru is Bad at Feelings, Rewrite, Slow Burn, chapter 10 with references to in some later chapters, fantasies, manga compliant up until a point, non-con elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 14:19:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14451084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayurei/pseuds/Mayurei
Summary: What do spilt tea, stalker ghosts, self analysis while you sleep and narcissistic bosses have in common? Taniyama Mai.Expect fluff, heroic tendencies and a long suffering assistant, who definitely didn't ask for any of this.





	1. Spills and Spooks

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sweet Dreams](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/376737) by miss koneko (also me). 



> For those who recognise it, this is re-write of a fic I posted on ff.net as "miss koneko". It's not supposed to be a total do over, but I'm not good at doing anything halfway.  
> All I intend to do is fix up some inconsistencies and change a few lines that I've come to dislike over time, but I may end up changing quite a bit simply because I felt like it at the time.  
> Due to a promise I made, I won't alter the original (unless it's to fix grammar and spelling), so don't worry if you like that version better.  
> What I've changed so far hasn't effected the spirit of the original fic, though a side by side comparison would reveal considerable differences.  
> Also, sorry I have no idea what I'm doing as far as tags are concerned - suggestions/advice in that area would be helpful.

**_July_ **

 

He stared at the footpath.

It was cracked; worn by time and the shuffling feet of students walking to and from the nearby school.

 _She_ had walked here. Just like she'd walked over him.

He was no more important to her than the slabs of concrete that made up the sidewalk.

_Great. Just great._

He'd known that she wouldn't say yes, he wasn't stupid. Being right didn't make him feel any better. She could have been a little nicer about it, but that wasn't her style.

This, he also knew.

It still didn't make him feel better.

He'd been doomed from the start - the very first day of semester. He'd arrived early that day, expecting to be met with silence as he walked into the classroom. He was, but _She_ was there. Simply sitting at her desk, looking out over the school grounds as if he didn't exist. Maybe he didn't.

She never said a word, never so much as glanced in his direction, but there was something about her that he just couldn't ignore.

 _Maybe I just want things I can't have. Like a girlfriend, like_ any _friend…like…a life._

He didn't see the bus.

 

-x-

 

**_Day 1_ **

 

It was a typical day at Shibuya Psychic Research, better known as "SPR". Two of its three core members were holed up in their prospective offices (as if socialising might somehow kill them) and the third desperately hoped one of SPR's extended crew would stop by and alleviate her boredom.

 _Preferably not Masako_ , Mai mused darkly.

The popular spirit medium liked to pick on her for reasons she couldn't quite fathom and only had eyes for their boss. John, their unfailingly friendly exorcist, was among her top choices though, as was Yasuhara. The bespectacled boy was a bit of a shitlord, but he was fun to be around, and her boss, Naru, seemed to genuinely like him.

If Takigawa (affectionately known as "Bou-san") made an appearance it would brighten her day but have the opposite effect on Naru. The monk wasn't known for being quiet and neither was SPR's unorthodox miko, Ayako. If the two of them visited at the same time there was sure to be bickering. As much as Mai loved them, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to exchange silence for their chaotic banter right now, either.

A few more minutes of normal, ghost free, office hours and Mai changed her mind. She didn't care who dropped by. She missed them and their unique brand of chaos, and they had been though a lot together.

Ghosts, weird occurrences, curses - you name it, SPR had seen it. As long as the case piqued Naru's interest.  Unfortunately, it had been a while since he had found a request interesting, hence the sizable stack of paperwork staring her in the face. Mai was beginning to question her choices in life.

_At the moment, I think I'd prefer falling down another well._

There were more than a few people that would have a pink fit if she managed that particular feat for a third time, her boss included. A little voice (that she stubbornly ignored) corrected, _especially_ her boss. She might have been more affected by that thought if she wasn't nursing a significant temper, aimed squarely in the aloof, tea-addict's direction.

He was getting under her skin at the moment and it was a "skill" he excelled at.  No matter what she said or did, he always seemed to get the upper hand. This morning had been no exception. The part-timer glared at the pile of papers she had yet to go through. They sat there ignoring her. Just like her boss.

_That narcissistic -  
_

"Mai, tea."

_Speak of the devil._

Shouldn't someone with his amount of pride, enjoy listening to the sound of their own voice?  Yet somehow, not only did the enigmatic egotist avoid explaining things that weren't _absolutely_ necessary, he had managed to find the shortest way to inform her that he required tea. She could hardly call it "asking". One of these days she was going to make him say "please", even if it killed her.

Unbidden, the thought of him down on his knees, begging for a cup of tea, made her blush.  She smacked her hands to her cheeks, partially in attempt to knock some sense back into herself but mostly to excuse her flushed features.

Clearly, she had warped taste in guys. There was no other explanation. Why else would she nickname the literal man of her dreams "Narcissistic Naru-chan"?

She was doomed from the start.

 

-x-

 

The client was a principal from a local high school. He had stormed in and rudely demanded to see the man in charge.

Why did people always assume it was a man? It was a rude, stupid mindset.

In retaliation Mai imagined what Naru might look like with long dark hair, all made up and greeting clients in a dress (black of course). She thought of his sullen expression with amusement, until her mental image smirked at her, as if she somehow needed reminding that his elegant features and piercing gaze would hardly be diminished by products typically used to emphasise them. 

_Thank Kami-sama he's not a woman._

Even Masako would feel insecure about her looks standing next to a beauty _that_ intimidating, and Mai strongly doubted being female would dampen Naru's vanity.

As enjoyable as the idea of her rival in love being taken down a peg or two might be, Mai dismissed the brief fantasy, straining to hear what was going on in the office. A potential case was far more captivating.

Regardless of the danger that their cases usually entailed, she loved them. There was something about having SPR's members all together, challenging the mysterious, which made working with them feel like _family._ Okay, sometimes they fought like one too, but that just made it all the more believable. For someone who had lost her own family, Mai treasured their close knit team.

Listening to the one-sided bursts of conversation erupting from behind the closed door, it seemed that the principal was under a lot of pressure from the PTA and Student Council to have some disturbances investigated. Something to do with a haunted bus?

Mai strained closer to hear. And heard footsteps.

_Oh, shit._

If she got caught eaves dropping, Naru would definitely make her regret it.

She tried to make it look as if she'd been doing something useful. Mai was fairly certain arguing that she had been "gathering information on a potential case" wouldn't cut it, but luckily, she had come prepared.

Now was as good a time as any to bring in the tea. She hadn't delivered it immediately because she had a feeling Naru would dismiss her, sending her straight back to the unrelenting pile of paperwork.

If there was a chance they might take the case, Mai would prefer to hear the story straight from the client, rather than reading about their troubles in a file. Only so much could be conveyed through words alone. That said, this guy was throwing plenty of them around. Naru had likely left her out on purpose, knowing full well how she might react to their visitor's attitude. He was probably right, if Mai was being brutally honest.

_If I was in there, I would have told that principal where to stick it several times by now - that's not how you ask someone for help!_

… _Naru would love to know that I just admitted he's right._

Bracing the tea tray against herself, Mai reached for the door handle.

On the other side, an indignant man strode angrily towards the exit.

Too late, the part-timer began to see the flaw in her plan, powerless to avoid the unfortunate collision.

Of _course_ this would be the exact moment she chose to bring the tea in.  Of course her boss had lit a verbal fire under the clearly frustrated client, and he couldn't leave their office fast enough.

Hot liquid sloshed spectacularly over the two of them, doing little to improve the man's mood. The only saving grace was that the tea was not as scalding as it once was, having cooled somewhat as Mai endeavoured to listen in.

"Watch where you're going!" The older man spat, "Look at my suit! Who's going to be responsible for cleaning up this mess? I didn't come here to be insulted -"

Mai tried to soothe him, attempting to soak up the tea with a serviette -

"Then maybe you shouldn't have come here insulting others." A cool voice supplied, and Mai could have sworn the temperature dropped to match their source's tone.

_Naru!_

The principal looked taken aback. "Well, I never -"

Naru didn't give him a chance to continue.

"We apologise for the accident and will pay for your jacket to be dry-cleaned if you wish, but I would ask that you leave now and not cause any more trouble for my staff."

The man looked as if he was going to explode. Well, at least Mai knew she wasn't the only one Naru had that effect on. In any other circumstance, she might have chuckled, but this was partially her fault (even if the old man was being rude). Everyone had bad days.

"I'm sorry for spilling the tea on you. Can I take your jacket and get it cleaned for you?"

Embarrassed by his actions, the disgruntled man looked unsure of how to proceed. After taking another look at Naru's piercing stare, he quickly turned back to Mai.

"I – I would appreciate that. Forgive me for not introducing myself properly. I am Niramitsu Kibishii, the principal of Hokoru High School. I hope you were not burnt by the hot water?"

Mai beamed up at him in response.

_I knew he couldn't be all bad. He must be under a lot of pressure to solve the problem._

Maybe he had just reacted badly to the notion of things like ghosts being real. She could hardly blame him if he felt scared, many with a strong sense of pride would not want to admit it easily. She had certainly struggled to accept the psychic abilities that had once slept, latent within her - at times it was still hard to acknowledge.

Mai glanced over at her formidable boss, smiling in spite of herself. She would probably get a good scolding after Niramitsu left.

_I should've known he'd notice I was eavesdropping…_

He noticed everything. If you believed his ego, anyway.

"Thank you for your concern, but I should be fine as soon as I change my clothes. I can return the jacket to your school if you like?"

Niramitsu handed her his coat, thanking Mai for her trouble before hurriedly scuttling back out into the hallway.

Mai prepared herself for a lecture on the reasons why she shouldn't have been listening through his door, but none came. Naru appeared to have said all he intended to.

"If you have nothing better to do than stare at me, then I suggest you get started on that paperwork."

"I wasn't staring! You arrogant…" Mai grumbled before trailing off in thought.

_Had he really not noticed? Was he mad at her?_

"If you're wondering why I haven't told you off for getting distracted and eavesdropping, it's because I believe you already regret your actions. Am I wrong?"

Mai gawked at him.

 _He couldn't_ really _read minds, could he?_

"…No." She could safely say she had regrets.

"Good. Then get back to work."

As he went to pass her, Naru paused. He looked unsure of what to say and Mai wasn't sure she'd ever seen him falter like this before.

She tilted her head in confusion.

His forehead pinched momentarily before Naru carefully smoothed his expression into something more neutral and straightened his back.

He'd come to a decision, Mai thought.

"…After you get changed." Naru amended his previous order.

Mai looked down at the telltale hints of her patterned bra showing though her tea-stained shirt and promptly turned beet red. For the love of all that was good and decent in this world, why had she decided to wear white this morning?!

 

-x-

The director of SPR chuckled to himself as he returned to his office.

_...Only Mai._

Except, more often than not, it wasn’t “only Mai” who managed to get herself covered in tea, or lured down a manhole, or any other number of things his stoic guardian would lose his mind over. Naru could confidently claim he was not trying to make Lin’s life difficult, but he had no intention of letting anyone live his life for him. If he chose to get caught up in the whirlwind that was Taniyama Mai, it was no one’s business but his own.

Not that his companions failed to express their interest.

If any of SPR’s members out right asked him why he had hired Mai, he would probably brush them off with a half truth. Exactly how true would probably depend on whether or not the girl was within earshot.

_She seemed useful at the time._

The addition of an implied insult anywhere near the explosive brunette would guarantee him an instant exit to the conversation. Depending on the way it was said, could also heavily imply that whoever was asking was not currently “being useful” and therefore should return to being so.

In the past, his reluctance to elaborate had more to do with the fact that Mai herself had never spoken of her circumstances, but that was no longer the case. Now he was left with merely his own secrecy and the worry that Mai might misconstrue his actions as pity.

He merely held a position that would allow her to help herself and had offered her that opportunity.

Originally, he had just wanted an extra set of hands. Her curiosity had cost him an assistant and he considered it only fair that she be the one to compensate him for the inconvenience. While she required he explain himself, a task he typically found tedious, Mai provided valid reasons for her arguments without taking his temperament personally.

Her reasons had been demonstrated with no small amount of sass, and he found he appreciated that too.

_Gene would have liked her._

From the very beginning, she had not fawned over his appearance or bothered to be anything other than herself. She wasn’t trying to impress him. Mai was just _Mai_. Anything she did that gained his attention was pure happenstance.

Slipping up and calling him “Naru” had certainly turned his head.

With her incredibly accented pronunciation of English words, he originally thought she had called him “Noll” up until she had elaborated on the reason for the nickname. Very few people were close enough or brave enough to speak to him with such familiarity and that was before he had begun operating under an alias. Of their present company, all but Lin knew him as “Shibuya Kazuya”, unless Madoka decided to drop by and complicate matters.

His mentor had taken to calling him Naru along with the rest of SPR, with no small amount of amusement.

When Mai’s latent ESP began to make an appearance, he had wondered if there was more to it than even Mai realised. In the beginning, the implications of what she had witnessed during cases had not occurred to her and even now she rarely offered up information she dismissed as irrelevant. She had become more forthcoming over time, but Naru took care to watch her reactions carefully. Her mere body language could often tell him more about a case than he was prepared to admit.

"Naru!" Mai sung out, "I'm taking these clothes to be cleaned. I won’t be long. Lucky for me I've kept a change of clothes here since that incident at the park…" Mai's voice dwindled out as she tugged on her coat, poking her head inside his door.

"Are you sure you won't take the case? I know he was rude before, but he didn't seem all bad."

"No one is "all bad", Mai."

She interpreted his response as a positive reaction, judging by the grin that spread across her face as she left him alone with his thoughts. He listened for the thud of the door as it closed, announcing Mai’s absence.

Maybe he was easier to read than he thought.

He had dodged her question, but then he hadn't told Mai he wasn't considering it either. She was planning something. That much was obvious. Most likely, she planned on finding out more about the incident when she returned the jacket to Niramitsu.

If he knew Mai even half as well as he thought he did, she was about to find trouble. Her sense of justice, selflessness and sensitivity to spirits made her a constant target. Instead of heeding the warnings her body supplied, Mai tended to hone in on the signal and confront it. If there was trouble, someone probably needed saving and occasionally he wished she’d realise a little sooner that it might be _her_.

Naru leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly tapping a finger against his desk.

_I suppose this means I'll have to find a way to keep her out of trouble…_

_Niramitsu’s case might be worth investigating after all._

 

-x-

**_Omake:_ **

Naru had likely left her out on purpose, knowing full well how she might react to their visitor's attitude. He was probably right, if Mai was being brutally honest.

_If I was in there, I would have told that principal where to stick it several times by now - that's not how you ask someone for help!_

… _Naru would love to know that I just admitted he's right._

"Which is exactly why you should bring the tea in and get back to work."

Mai looked up and instantly regretted it. How could she have not noticed the door open? Naru was standing right in front of her, somehow managing to appear put out and mildly amused at the same time.

_Hang on. Unless he's secretly telepathic…?_

_Oh, no. I'll never hear the end of this!_

"I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Naru just looked at her.

_That's a yes._

 


	2. Close Encounters of the Narcissistic Kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to ArtzGromet for helping me keep my comma addiction in line!

Mai stood outside the school gate. The bell would ring soon and students would be pouring out of every entrance in a grand display of temporary freedom. Surely one of them would talk to her about the strange occurrences bothering their school. She had a friendly face and unlike _some people_ , she was actually friendly.

There was just one problem, even if she found out more about the case, how was she going to get Naru to take it on?

He wouldn't do it just because she asked, Mai knew that from experience. He had even turned down a request from "the respected Masako" until the spirit medium had confessed she was in the client's debt and wanted to repay it somehow. Even then, Mai had been surprised that Naru had accepted the case.

_Maybe he really does like her._

Mai sighed. There was no point in worrying about that now. She had information to hunt down.

Armed with a positive attitude and a dry cleaned jacket, Mai entered the gate.

_I could get in trouble for this…_

 

-x-

 

"…the corridor on the left and then the third door down on the right?"

The student nodded in response.

"That should get you to his office in no time."

Mai thanked them for their trouble and hurried in the indicated direction, relieved she was finally close to her goal. All this running around was making her tired…

The corridors all looked alike. It was as if the school buildings themselves had a uniform just like the students. All of them the same, so no one individual stood out.

Not that it worked. Better looks and social skills garnered attention regardless and those who stood out for the "wrong" reasons were singled out and ridiculed. Those drifting aimlessly in between followed the few who were noticed, hoping some of their light would fall onto them. If they could not find a way to at least pretend to fit in, it was all too easy to become just one more person in a sea of uniforms, unknown and unnoticed by their peers.

_Maybe that was how it was for that boy…_

Mai shook herself awake, startled at her own thoughts. What "boy"? Where had that thought come from?

Before she could contemplate the strange direction her mind had taken her, she realised she had found what she was looking for. Knocking on the door of Niramitsu's office, Mai was met with silence.

_He must be out._

There went her chance to find out more about the case from him. She would have to rely on gossip from students.

Not wishing to intrude, Mai carefully pushed open the door, thinking it best to leave the jacket on the principal's desk. As she returned to go back the way she came, something began to feel amiss about her surroundings. Nothing _looked_ out of place, but she could have sworn she was going around in circles.

_Surely I should have found my way back by now?_

Maybe she had gotten distracted and missed a turn somewhere. Vexed she huffed, "It's like I haven't moved at all!"

She looked around for anyone who might be of help and didn’t spot a single soul.

 _Shouldn’t it be busy at this time of day? Just how much do people hate being here if they disappear_ that _quickly?!_

Mai slumped against the wall trying to figure out what would be the best method of attack. Of course she had managed to get lost. Naru would have a field day if he knew.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mai spotted movement at the end of the corridor and she strained to get a better look. It was a boy, probably close to her in age.

_Yes! Luck was on her side today!_

Mai wasted no time in calling out to him.

"Excuse me! Can you help? I think I've gotten lost…"

To Mai's surprise, the boy never so much as broke his pace. The only indication he had heard her at all was a quick glance in her direction as he went past.

_He heard me, right?_

Surely she hadn’t imagined his scrutiny, no matter how brief. Unsure of his reason for ignoring her, she tried to give the stranger the benefit of a doubt.

Mai ran after him, not willing to lose her ticket out of here. This time she placed herself directly in his path. If he still ignored her, all bets were _off_.

 “Hi!” She tried again, “I hate to bother you but I’m kind of lost. Could you point me in the right direction? I need to find the exit."

The boy looked at her as if she'd grown another head.

Mai wasn’t sure where to go with that. Maybe she had misunderstood the situation. Did they have some kind of communication barrier she was unaware of?

"Can you understand me?”

He stammered a bit, but didn’t manage any words.

_Well, he’s not mute._

It would have explained a lot. She was relieved for both their sakes that she could rule out that possibility - she knew a grand total of three words in sign language. The boy didn’t look it, but maybe he was foreign? Mai supposed he could be part of an exchange program.

She was grasping at straws here, but she had to try _something_. Taking a deep breath, Mai steeled herself for embarrassment. If it turned out that he could understand her, she didn't think she'd _ever_ live it down.

“Do you speak Japanese?” She tried repeating the phrase in accented English and one or two other languages her friends had taught her after falling for some "really hot guy" in their foreign languages class.

Finally, Mai saw a flicker of comprehension cross the distressed student’s face.

"A-are you talking to _me_?"

It dawned on Mai that she may have simply startled him. It seemed he could understand her _just fine_.

"Of course I was talking to you! Do you see anyone else in this hallway?!" She gestured around them wildly.

The boy looked, just to be sure.

"N-no…?" He didn’t sound convinced, but he hurried to apologise, "I didn't mean to ignore you - it's just that most people tend to see right through me…" He chuckled quietly, laughing at a joke only he understood.

"What's your name? I-I'm Yamada Mihari."

"Taniyama Mai." She smiled, sensing he was still nervous around her, "Nice to meet you. Could you show me the way out if it's not too much trouble?" It was starting to get cold. Mai wished she had thought to bring her own jacket when she had returned Niramitsu’s.

"Sure."

Mai realised this was the perfect opportunity to do what she had come here for in the first place – to find information that might interest Naru enough to take the case!

_Finally, some progress!_

Or it would have been, if asking Yamada about odd occurrences hadn’t made him act even more skittish than before. She dropped the subject for now, but it definitely suggested that something was going on here.

Mai couldn’t help but wonder if Yamada was connected to it. It could merely be a prank that had gotten out of hand, but she had her doubts.

“Thank you for your help.” Even if she suspected something was amiss, it wasn’t like she knew the circumstances.

“And, um, sorry for jumping to conclusions..”

Yamada looked down, suddenly finding the floor innately fascinating.

"That's alright. At least you can see me."

_See him? Why wouldn’t I be able to..._

Mai looked over at Yamada to find empty space. Where had he gone? Mai squinted into the darkness, unease flooding her senses. Had it been dark before? She wasn't sure anymore.

It wasn't long before Mai began to notice the other reason for her growing desire to find a light switch – she could hear _voices_. The rational side of her brain kept trying to reassure her there must be a reason for all of this, but her instincts yelled that it was pulling excuses out of its arse. Sure, there was a reason. Mai suspected she wouldn’t like it much.

"Yamada-kun? Is that you?" Mai's voice did little but echo shakily down the corridor, the feeble attempt to ease her fears obliterated as she felt hands grip her shoulders.

"... _Hardly.”_

Naru’s voice struck with lightning bolt clarity. Startled by his sudden proximity, Mai threw her head back and smacked into a wall.

“Oww!” She swung forward and clutched her head. Where had that come from? She had been standing in a hallway, not sitting against a wall the last time she checked.

Naru released her shoulders with what she suspected was an exasperated sigh. She might have thrown a retort at him, if his movements hadn’t drawn attention to the fact that he had been _touching_ her. As a rule, Naru tended to avoid physical contact if he could help it.

Mai flushed, covering her embarrassment with a show of irritation.

"Naru! Don't scare me like that!"

Her reprimand may as well have been water on a duck’s back. He didn’t even twitch. Ordinarily that might have served to rile her, but Mai recognised that expression.

_He’s gathering information._

Did that mean she was still dreaming? No, the Naru who appeared in her dreams would have smiled at her by now and there were usually glowing orbs involved. Taking a moment to reassess her surroundings, Mai realised they had company.

A group of students buzzed around them, whispering.

"Did she say Yamada?"

"No way, really?"

"He stepped in front of a bus, right? Everyone says he’s the reason weird things keep happening...”

"We should leave in case he comes near us, as well!"

"You think he would?”

“Gee, thanks for _that_ comforting thought! I'll never be able to get to sleep - I have to get up early tomorrow, you know?"

_Girl's voices._

_Typical._

Of course Naru had drawn a small crowd of high school girls. Knowing how uncomfortable their attention most likely made him was a small consolation, but Mai hung onto it nonetheless. Masako was already more than enough competition. On the other hand, what was her boss doing here? Had he changed his mind about the case?

Surely a phone call would have sufficed? It wasn’t like he had to come to the school in person.

One of the girls approached her.

“Are you alright? We found you collapsed on the floor in the hallway. We didn't know who you were, so we tried phoning the last number you called on your mobile.”

_So that’s why Naru is here..._

_Was he worried?_

The helpful student leant down to whisper conspiratorially in Mai’s ear, "He’s your boyfriend, right? _Nice_."

Mai immediately went ten shades of red, waving her hands in front of her in an attempt to laugh off the girl's suggestion.

_Kami-sama, tell me Naru didn't hear._

He wasn’t smirking at her, so Mai figured she was in the clear. Changing the subject, she asked about the boy she had been talking to.

"Did anyone see where he went? I got lost when I tried to find my way back from the principal's office…" Mai trailed off when she noticed the students glance worriedly amongst themselves.

_...Why were they looking at her like that?_

 The group of girls huddled closer together, collectively drawing back in worry.

"What's wrong? Did I say something strange?"

It wouldn’t be the first time.

One of the girls shakily pointed at the wall behind Mai. She followed their finger, eyes widening when she saw what was bothering them. She was standing right next to the office. She couldn't have gotten lost. She hadn't moved from the spot since leaving the room.

Gingerly, someone asked, "Did you really see him?"

"See who?"

Another girl piped up.

"Yamada-kun. Some people say they've seen him roaming the corridors after school. They say he doesn't realise he's dead."

_“At least you can see me."_

Recalling Yamada’s last words to her, she felt like crying.

"Mai." Naru prompted, giving her something else to focus on. It was hard to spot his kindness sometimes, but it was there, if you knew where to look.

"Yes?"

"Go down to the car park and help Lin bring the equipment in.” He instructed, “One of the girls will show you the way to the base."

Mai moved to do as requested when his words dawned on her, "Wait-a-minute! We're taking the case?"

Naru remained silent on principle, reminding her of a spoilt cat as he stalked away.

One of the girls stepped through the crowd parting in his wake, introducing herself as Maeda Haruka and offering her assistance. Before Naru was out of earshot (but perhaps suspiciously out of reach) he paused to add, "Oh, and Mai?"

"Yes?"

"Don't get lost."

Mai's mind exploded with a variety of fantasies, most of which involved tying Naru up and leaving him in a hole to rot.

_He just couldn’t help himself, could he?!_

"That wasn't my fault and you know it, Narcissist!"

Mai promptly grabbed hold of the other girl's hand and stormed towards the adjacent hallway.

_I'll show him who's lost!_

"Uhh, Taniyama-san? Would you mind slowing down?" Maeda yelped, reminding the headstrong ghost hunter that she was essentially dragging her guide in a random direction.

Horrified, Mai came to an abrupt stop, an apology on her lips before she had even spun to face the other girl.

"I'm so sorry! I got a bit carried away..." She groaned, muttering under her breath.

"He gets me riled so easily…"

“... _Clearly_.” Maeda stated, still a little ruffled from being towed, “Do the two of you always flirt so aggressively?”

 _Did they_ what _?!_

Mai blinked at the relative stranger, wondering where on earth she had gotten that impression. Remembering the girl who had whispered in her ear earlier, Mai was quick to correct the misunderstanding.

“Oh! We’re not dating!” She denied, trying not to wince at the harsh truth, “He’s my boss.”

It was like Maeda honed in on the tiny lilt of disappointment that crept into her voice.

“Really,” the girl scoffed, “that’s all there is to it?”

_Why?_

Mai was dying to ask.

_What makes you think Naru would flirt with me?_

_What makes you think it’s "aggressive"?!_

"W-well…" Honestly at this point Mai had no idea what might come out of the abrupt teen’s mouth, but she did her best to give a confident answer.

“I’d like to think we’re also friends.”

_I mean, a friend would totally bring you tea when you’ve had a terrifying dream._

_Maybe even entertain you after you accidentally pulled them into a manhole..._

_And okay, covering your body with their own when ceilings collapsed on you_ might _be a stretch, but they hunted ghosts for a living! Most friends wouldn’t even find themselves in situations like that, right?_

_...Right._

"Your name is Maeda, isn't it?"

Maeda nodded an affirmative, biting back a grin at the obvious change in subject.

"Feel free to call me Haruka.”

Mai smiled, “Then you better call me by my first name too.”

“Deal!”

The two young women laughed at their mutual enthusiasm. Meeting new people was another reason Mai loved working with SPR. Hopefully this case wouldn’t turn out to be as hair raising as some of their more recent endeavours, but she knew better than to hold her breath.

“...I won’t tell him, you know.”

Mai glanced at Haruka out of the corner of her eye. A slew of embarrassing questions still danced on the tip of her tongue, but she dodged the issue out of habit.

“Tell who?”

Haruka shot her a blank look and Mai caved. It would be nice to talk about it with someone close to her own age who was unlikely to simply gush about how handsome Naru was, or write him off entirely the moment he said something blunt.

“You’re sure he was flirting?” Mai urged, nervously biting her lip.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but he seems like the logical type,” Haruka surmised, “a little too smart for his own good?”

That was putting it lightly. Mai gave a firm nod.

“Always focused on the task at hand? It wouldn’t be pushing it to call him a workaholic?”

Again Mai nodded, wondering where Haruka was going with her line of inquiry.

“Well that "focused workaholic" stopped what he was doing just to get a reaction out of you.” She announced without a shred of doubt.

“He might not even realise that’s what he’s doing, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t _doing it_.”

Stunned at the revelation, Mai became uncharacteristically quiet. Did this mean she wasn’t beating her head against a wall where her boss was concerned?

“It’s been over a year since I met him,” Mai confessed, staring down at her feet, “My friends and I were telling ghost stories in an unused classroom. He opened the door and scared the hell out of us.”

She laughed at the memory, “He was so shady! My friends were drawn to his looks, but I didn’t trust him at all.”

“I think it’s safe to assume that changed?” Haruka teased.

“Yep! He stopped trying to smile when he didn’t mean it and decided to leave being sociable to the professionals.” Mai joked, gesturing to herself.

_Why had she come to trust him? There were too many reasons._

When it all came down to it, ‘reason’ had little to do with it. As Naru had pointed out, she followed her instincts. Her heart told her she could trust him and so far it had not steered her wrong.

“I had this dream.” She confided wistfully, "I haven't been able to get him out of my head since."

A man poked his head out of an open door way, startling the two girls.

"You've had a dream? Already?!” He exclaimed, leaning towards Mai, “Was it one of _those_?"

The part-time ghost hunter practically jumped out of her skin.

"Bou-san!"

 

-x-

 

Haruka glanced at Mai, who was currently doing a fair imitation of a stone statue, before turning her attention to the man who had interrupted them. What had Mai called him? "Bou-san"?

_As in 'Monk'?_

He didn't _look_ like a monk. He _looked_ like a cowboy.

_Just goes to show you can never judge a book by its cover._

Haruka watched in fascination as her new-found friend tried vainly to get the cowboy/monk to disregard her aforementioned dream. Mai's reluctance to share only added fuel to the fire.

_They seem more like siblings than members of a Psychic Research team._

The bickering duo seemed lost in their own world until a fancy looking woman arrived on the scene. Her first order of business was to reprimand the sandy-haired monk with a prompt “thawp!” up the side of his head for harassing Mai.

_Maybe she's the monk's wife…?_

Wife or not, it seemed that they all worked together. She wondered what the new arrival’s speciality was. From what Haruka had seen and heard, Mai’s must have something to do with her dreams.

Lately _she'd_ been having dreams.

Maybe Mai would understand. Maybe these people would listen to her, without brushing aside her concerns.

What she would give to simply be able to sleep – every night, it was the same.

Every night, she dreamt of being thrown under a bus.

 

-x-

 

He had been watching her all day. She had been going though the school, setting up cameras and taking temperatures in each room and recording them methodically. How odd. It probably had something to do with her companions and possibly finding him? He lacked all but a passing interest in their activities.

In his eyes, there was only room for her.

_Mai…_

She could sense him, he was sure of it.

She didn't seem scared of him. When she had been told about the way he died, she looked pained on his behalf.

She _cared_.

Not many people had cared about him before. He'd been abandoned. Betrayed.

When he was alive he had been treated like he was invisible, but now that he was dead?

_How ironic._

Now that he really _was_ invisible, everyone paid attention to him.

A wave of hatred overwhelmed him and he leaned into it. It was laughable how helpless his enemies were. It was all too easy to scare them, even with harmless pranks.

It served them right.

 

-x-

 

Mai checked the temperature and recorded it for what seemed like the hundredth time. For some reason, every room she and Haruka had checked seemed to have a slightly lower temperature than any of the rooms Bou-san and Ayako had checked.

Naru noticed the anomaly and ordered everyone to recheck the other's rooms. If Lin hadn’t also been required to check the equipment for unusual readings, Mai would have suspected it was an elaborate ruse to make sure they weren’t slacking off somehow.

Yes, she was aware that she was being a little melodramatic.

Ayako had joked that maybe Mai had a ghost-stalker and the idea had slowly been eating away at her ever since. When it came to keeping out of trouble, she didn't exactly have a good track record. Yamada had been nice enough in her dream, but she knew all too well he wouldn't stay that way. Ghosts that didn't crossover were greatly influenced by their surroundings and if they stayed for too long, they could become increasingly hostile and dangerous.

_Yeah. Not good._

Regardless, Mai wanted to help and if Naru thought it was too dangerous for her to stay, she'd get sent home.

_I just have to make sure I'm not alone._

If anything happened she would have back up, but the true challenge was making sure she didn’t arouse suspicion. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the way you look at it) Mai's plans were crushed before she so much as had a chance to implement them.

_I swear he can read my mind!_

_...But then again, if he_ can _…_

Mai blushed deeply, not even wanting to think about that possibility.

The moment of truth had been when Mai handed Naru the temperature recordings. The thermometers had been checked for any discrepancies and the temperatures themselves had been double checked. The result was the same.

The temperature dropped wherever Mai went.

_Crap._

Ayako was the first to speak, looking dubiously at Mai.

"…You're not a ghost, are you?"

"What! No way!"

Naru however, took a more serious approach.

_That workaholic._

"Mai,” He turned his attention towards her, “was Maeda-san with you each time you measured the temperatures?"

The two girls glanced at each other. This time Haruka replied in Mai's stead.

She could see where this was going.

"Yes. I'm afraid so."

Mai piped up, slightly annoyed that she seemed to be missing something.

"What are you implying? Why would…" Realisation hit Mai like a ton of bricks. She hadn't been the only one in the room and regardless of her affinity for trouble, Haruka was more likely to be targeted than she was. Mai had never been to the school until today.

_Oh…_

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

The moment of truth had been when Mai handed Naru the temperature recordings. The thermometers had been checked for any discrepancies and the temperatures themselves had been double checked. The result was the same.

The temperature dropped wherever Mai went.

_Crap._

Ayako was the first to speak, looking dubiously at Mai.

"…You're not a ghost, are you?"

“Yes,” Naru intoned sarcastically, “that’s exactly what she’s _not_.”

 


	3. The Naked Truth

Naru watched the sudden comprehension drift across Mai's face, satisfied that she had just answered her own question. Turning towards Maeda once more he continued, "Does Yamada-san have any reason to target you?"

The school girl replied without hesitation.

"Yes."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Mai cried out, causing Maeda to glance guiltily at his shocked assistant.

She needn’t worry. Mai was vocal, but rarely held grudges.

_...Though she does have a vengeful streak._

Mai would probably prefer to call it a strong sense of justice, but he didn’t recall anyone else he had worked with _objecting_ to an earthbound spirit moving on. Until they gave the ghost a true sense of closure, Mai would not be satisfied.

He wasn’t sure what had surprised him more – that the cheerful girl had it in her to be so ruthlessly cunning, or that even John, possibly the nicest person on earth, went along with her scheme.

He chose not to linger on the implication that they were all wrapped around Mai’s little finger.

“The day he died, he…” Maeda fumbled, breaking off midsentence. She tried again, steeling her resolve and facing him. That her hands had begun to tremble did not escape his notice.

“Yamada-san asked me out that afternoon and I turned him down.”

_Interesting._

Naru leant forward, pressing pursed lips against bridged fingers. Her behaviour suggested she had not revealed this detail to anyone before and it made him wonder why.

_Was she afraid people would think Yamada had committed suicide?_

He doubted it was anything of a more sinister nature, but it was unwise to make assumptions. Offering up a morsel of information did not mean she had nothing else to hide.

"You believe he could be holding a grudge against you." Naru probed.

"Yes, but - that's not the only reason.” Maeda confirmed, shedding further light on her motive for secrecy, “Ever since he died, I’ve been suffering from a reoccurring nightmare.”

She had rejected Yamada and he had died.

Erie pranks and impossible things had started happening at her school.

People had started to see what they thought was Yamada’s ghost.

She was scared.

“Every time I fall asleep, I dream that -” Maeda choked out, “that I’m hit by a _bus_.”

 

-x-

 

The next few hours proved uneventful.

Maeda volunteered to take the monk and miko shopping for the group's dinner, while Mai took the opportunity provided by the lull in activity to head home and pack some clothes.

Naru mused over the data they had collected. They would document witness testimonies and look into rumours in the morning. It was a shame that Yasuhara, whose strengths lay in information gathering, would be unable to assist them on this case. At least Hara and John would arrive as soon as their previous commitments would allow.

Hara’s skills as a medium should be especially useful on this case, judging from Mai’s adventure in the corridor earlier that afternoon.

Leaning back in his chair, Naru felt something foreign jab into his lower back.

_Mai's keys._

So _that's_ what she had thrown at him earlier.

He should really stop teasing her so much. One of these days she might _actually_ lose patience with him, not just react spectacularly to his prodding.

Mai would happily bury him the day she realised he found her exasperation endearing. He figured he was probably safe for now.

Barely suppressing a smirk, he reached for his phone.

 

-x-

 

Mai's mobile was ringing. Loudly.

That would have been fine if one of her "incredibly thoughtful" friends hadn’t changed her ring tone to a recording of Mai mumbling in her sleep. And not just about kittens or surprise tests, oh no! She’d been talking about _Naru_.

Absolutely nothing about this situation was _fine_.

She was willing to place money on the culprit being Keiko. It fit with her classmate’s sense of humour and she was enough of a cheesy romantic to think a stunt like this might actually help nudge Naru in Mai’s direction.

She rummaged through her bag, hurrying to reach her ever elusive phone. People were beginning to stare.

_Make it stop!_

As if the phone had heard her plea, "stop" was exactly what it did. Right as Mai was about to answer. She glared at the screen, only to find it completely blank.

_...Fantastic._

Her phone had died of second-hand embarrassment.

If they ever started to make mobiles with artificial intelligence, Mai didn't want one. Her phone already _had_ a mind of its own.

Trying to turn it back on got her as far as the manufacturer’s logo but no further. She must have accidentally disconnected the battery charger last night _._

_Well, there isn’t any use worrying about it now._

She just hoped the call wasn't important.

 

-x-

 

Naru frowned as the dial tone was replaced by a recorded message.

"The person you are calling has their mobile switched off, or is unreachable. To send a free text -"

He ended the call, seeing no use in listening to the rest of the message. Had she hung up on him? It seemed unlikely.

He tried again, but this time there wasn’t even a dial tone - just the automated voice.

Naru informed Lin that he’d be heading out for a while and slipped Mai’s keys into his pocket. It could be nothing. Knowing the auburn-haired trouble magnet the way he did, Naru would hardly be surprised to learn that something had happened to her phone.

When it came down to it, he had what she needed to get into her apartment. It would be a waste of time if she had to come all the way back just to return home again. As far as he was concerned, he was doing _both_ of them a favour.

If everything was fine, he could tease her about leaving her keys behind and be treated to the entire scope of human emotion passing across Mai’s face. If not? Well, there was no denying that he was a force to be reckoned with.

He wasn’t worried. There was nothing to be worried _about_.

At the edge of his vision, the corner of Lin’s mouth twitched upwards. The stoic man may as well have come straight out and said, “If you keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you’ll believe it.”

Scowling, Naru strode from the base. It wasn’t like Lin had a leg to stand on. For someone who claimed to hate the Japanese, the Chinese man was no less likely to come to Mai’s aid than anyone else on his team. Though how Lin had gone from abruptly excusing himself ~~running away~~ when the part-timer spoke to him, to the soft expression he now wore when she brought him drinks and the occasional snack was a mystery.

If he had to guess, Lin had probably said something cutting about her lack of awareness concerning Japan and China’s history. Mai would have been _Mai_ and hit him with the full force of whatever it was about her that made clients open up and delivery workers stop and chat for a few extra minutes.

He had said something similar to Naru when he was younger and he vaguely recalled telling Lin just how stupid he thought the nature of his grudge was. Maybe his assistant was starting to accept that he was right.

 

-x-

 

Mai fished in her pocket for her keys as she approached her front door, unexpectedly coming up empty. She checked her other pockets. Nada.

Shaking her bag for signs of anything that jingled, Mai was about to upend its contents, when she was struck by the memory of the last time she’d seen her missing keys.

Namely, leaving her hand as she threw them at her boss.

_Oops._

At least she had a back up.

Mai glanced around to make sure no one was looking as she retrieved her spare key. In a pot plant by her door may not be the most secure place to keep it, but hey – it was better than under the doormat.

Slipping off her shoes at the entrance, Mai looked around at her home in pride. Some might consider her apartment small, but Mai called it 'cosy'. She had no need for an excessive amount of space and there was more than enough room for one. She could do whatever she wanted here. There were no expectations to live up to, no one to complain about her taste in music or think she looked silly dancing around as she did the dishes.

Sure, living alone could be hard sometimes, but this was her freedom - her _space._

Rummaging through her draws and floor-drobe, Mai tried to find a shirt to match the skirt she’d thrown haphazardly into her bag.

 _Preferably_ not _white._

 After the tea incident this morning she felt the need to avoid light colours.

_How embarrassing! At least I was wearing a nice bra._

In the grand scheme of things, which bra she was wearing didn't matter. Mai knew that, but it was the one thing in that situation that she'd felt she had some control over. For whatever reason that small detail made her feel better. (Feeling better was definitely on her agenda.)

Mai promptly grabbed a towel. She was going to have a shower, wash off whatever was left of the tea and _relax_.

Ayako’s ghost stalker remark had put her on edge. While the evidence suggested Yamada’s interest lay in Haruka (which hardly improved the situation) Mai couldn’t shake the sensation of being watched. Even on her way home, she had caught herself glancing around, chasing shadows out of the corner of her eye.

Just thinking about it freaked her out.

No! She wouldn't dwell on it. This was her home and nothing could scare her here. It just wasn't allowed. Having shaken the disturbing thoughts from her head, Mai removed the last of her clothing and let the soothing water stream over her face.

_This is heaven…_

 

-x-

 

She was so beautiful. The water streaming down her body made her look like some kind of goddess. He knew he shouldn't look – if he was alive he supposed it would have bothered him, looking at her like this.

He'd followed her home. It was difficult, leaving the place he was so familiar with, but then they'd never wanted him there anyway. Why should he stay?

Apparently her companions thought he was more interested in Haruka. Ha! He had nothing to do with her nightmares. If she was looking for someone to blame for her nightly terrors she needn't look further than her own reflection.

_Go ahead and drown in guilt._

Haruka had thought she was too good for him and he'd died alone. Mai was _different_. She had talked to him, ran after him. When she heard how he had died, Mai mourned his loss. She would understand.

She _had_ to.

 

-x-

 

The air had begun to grow cold. Mai tried to combat the chill by gradually adjusting the hot tap, but to little effect. Had she left the window open by mistake?

Straining to tell, she wiped away the obscuring steam. The window was closed and she couldn’t see anything that might contribute to a drop in temperature. Trying to dissuade her growing sense of unease, Mai hurried to finish what was supposed to be a relaxing shower.

Then the squeaking started.

Dragging, shrill sounds permeated the air, punctuated by soft pauses. Swallowing audibly, Mai shifted her gaze towards the noise. She wished she hadn't.

An invisible finger traced its way across the glass, scribing words Mai was too terrified to identify. As far as she was aware, the message was complete gibberish and at this point in time she was perfectly content for it to _stay_ that way.

To make matters worse, she could feel a familiar wave of exhaustion claw at her consciousness.

 _...Seriously?_ Now _?!_

The last place she wanted to have a vision was passed out on the floor of her shower, even without unwanted company. Despite her efforts to remain awake, Mai felt ever more disconnected. Her hands fumbled as she tried to form the nine cuts and the desperate girl was beginning to wonder if the distant screams echoing in her ears were in fact coming from her _._

She never felt the pain of falling.

 

-x-

 

It had taken longer than anticipated to find Mai's apartment.

Half expecting to see her curled up on her doorstep, Naru irritably quashed an irrational flare of disappointment when he found the stoop empty. Mai was used to living alone, he reasoned. It wouldn't be unusual for her to keep a spare key.

When knocking on the door failed to produce results, Naru eyed the keys in his hand. If he was careful not to expend too much power, he mind be able to glean some information on Mai’s whereabouts. What Lin didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.

Focusing the tiniest seed of energy into his finger tips, he dipped into the connection Mai held with the object.

 

_It’s cold..._

_Water beat down on his skin, unease pooling in the pit of his stomach. This was supposed to be a safe place!_

_Words squealed across the glass, written by an invisible hand -_

Naru ripped himself away from the overwhelming sense of horror.

_Mai!_

She had thought she was in a safe place. Maybe she was here, after all.

_Only one way to find out._

Naru gripped her keys and swiftly let himself in. He didn't bother to remove his shoes, who knew what had happened after the encounter he’d glimpsed. Now was not the time to be concerned with social norms.

Unable to immediately place Mai, Naru’s attention was drawn to the sound of running water. He followed the sound, wasting no time in bashing on her bathroom door.

" _Mai!_ " No response.

_Shit._

As angry as she would understandably be if he stormed in on her, it was better than letting any harm come to his assistant. That he would not allow.

The door was either locked or jammed, but it made no difference. Naru smashed through the wood as if it were no more than cardboard.

The sight that greeted him drew the psychic to a standstill.

Mai was slumped awkwardly against the shower’s tiled walls, her skin unusually pale. In contrast, anywhere the water had repeatedly struck her body now flushed angrily. He hurried to turn off the taps, grabbing a towel with one hand as he quickly checked for injuries.

She didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere and thank god she was breathing. It was possible to drown in even a very small amount of water, under the right conditions.

If she had slumped sideways, face falling under the constant stream of water...

If he hadn’t felt it necessary to check on her and return her keys...

_...If I hadn't come inside._

He didn't want to think about it.

Pressing fingers to the bridge of his nose in relief and something close to annoyance, Naru covered Mai with his jacket and manoeuvred her into a more comfortable position. It might not be long before she woke on her own, but he had all but destroyed her door and she hadn’t stirred. He didn’t like his chances of waking her gently.

For now, he looked around the room for something else. Four words clumsily scrawled on the outside of her shower door, seemingly illegible to Mai from the other side of the glass.

_"Not like the others"._

Naru sighed. While he might not know the context yet, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Mai had left an _impression_. He looked down at the sleeping brunette in his lap as he prepared to relocate her. She had a knack for bringing out strong reactions in others.

 

-x-

 

 _No!_ That wasn't how things were supposed to go! She wasn't supposed to be afraid - not like the others!

Mai…

Mai was _different_ …

Why had she rejected him?!

The once living boy curled inside himself, stunned. He watched as she lay unconscious in the corner of her shower, convinced that there must be some kind of mistake.

He would wait. He could try again. Something must have gone wrong...

There was no way she could be scared of him.

Or maybe something else was the problem, Yamada wondered – some _one_ else. His gaze zeroed in on the guy Mai called "Naru". He didn’t like the way the dark-haired nuisance covered Mai with his clothing, or how he had looked at her when he carried the girl to the sofa.

_Mine!_

The ghost hissed, overwhelmed by rage. How dare another touch what was _his_!

 

-x-

 

" ** _SMASH!"_**

Glass breaking, Naru realised. That was never a good sign.

Objects in the house began to shudder and pitch, making it apparent that time was not a luxury they could afford. Whether Mai was awake or not, they had to leave and they had to leave _now_.

His large black coat would afford her some modesty, but he doubted that either of them would be able to escape this situation without attracting at least some unwanted attention.

Mai was going to kill him for this. Fortunately he didn’t particularly care for the opinions of strangers, or his pride would probably _let_ her.

 

-x-

 

They had left. While he had been caught in a fit of rage, that intruder had taken Mai!

It was unforgivable, being robbed this way.

For that, Naru would _pay_.

Frustrated, Yamada realised he no longer knew how to find them. It had taken considerable effort to free himself of the school grounds and he could not remember the way back. True, he had followed Mai to her apartment, but he hadn't been paying attention to the scenery! Why would he when he could look at Mai?

He would have to wait. This was her home, Mai would come back. Until then he'd have to leave her in Naru's hands, but she would come back.

Mai couldn't leave, she belonged to _him_.

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

Naru gripped Mai’s keys and swiftly let himself in. He didn't bother to remove his shoes, who knew what kind of trouble his part-timer had managed to stumble upon in his absence. Now was not the time to be concerned with social norms.

Unable to immediately place SPR’s beloved trouble-magnet, Naru’s attention was drawn to the sound of running water. He followed the sound, wasting no time in bashing on her bathroom door.

"Mai! Are you okay?!"

The response was a mere whimper.

_Shit._

As angry as Mai would understandably be if he stormed in on her, it was better than letting any harm come to her. That he would not allow.

The door was either locked or jammed, but it made no difference. Naru smashed through the wood as if it were no more than cardboard.

What the hell, he could afford to pay for a new door.

The sight that greeted him drew the psychic to a standstill.

The shower was still running, but Mai was perched precariously on top of her sink. Under different circumstances, he might have allowed himself a moment to appreciate the sight of her, dripping wet and wrapped in nothing but a towel.

Naru focused on finding the source of her fear. What on earth could have scared her badly enough to inhibit his bubbly assistant’s ability to speak?

Mai merely shot him a desperate look, pointing wildly at a corner of the room. A single, stuttered word fell from her lips...

"Sp-spider!"


	4. Dream a Little Dream of Me

 

Mai found herself standing on what appeared to be a school rooftop. Two students, a male and female were talking by the rail, their voices muted and distant.

_I'm dreaming…_

Moving toward the couple, she wondered if Naru would show up soon. He had revealed that he led her to certain dreams, but he wasn’t always present. Maybe he only guided her to some of them?

If Mai really wanted to know more about Dream Naru, she suspected she was going to have to ask the real life equivalent. It would mean confessing how long she had been dreaming about him and that was never, _ever_ going to happen.

She didn’t need the embarrassment and he didn’t need the ego boost.

Mai refocused her curiosity on the scene playing out before her. She couldn’t see the student’s faces well, but they both looked familiar.

_Those are Hokoru High School uniforms._

The girl had straight, shoulder length chocolate locks, reminding her of a recent friend she’d made.

_...Haruka-san?!_

Mai took a closer look at the male – it was definitely the boy she had met in the corridor.

_This is probably a memory of Yamada-kun confessing to her._

She watched with growing interest as Haruka's body language changed. While not exactly friendly, it was clear she was trying to be polite at first. Now she was clearly guarded, maybe even upset.

Mai found that she no longer had to strain to hear their voices.

"How you feel about me isn't real. You've never even talked to me before, how can you claim to have feelings for me?” The girl coldly demanded, “You don't even _know_ me."

Mai blinked. Haruka sure didn't pull her punches.

_I wonder if she gets confessed to a lot._

Had people told her their feelings only to lose interest once they got to know her?

She might have only just met Haruka, but Mai felt there was something more to the high schooler’s response than a tendency to be direct. She glanced at Yamada, wondering how he had taken the blunt rejection.

He was _smiling_.

It was bitter sweet, but Mai would be lying if she said that his reaction didn’t unnerve her.

"I knew you'd say that. You're not like the others -" He babbled earnestly, unfazed.

Haruka cut him off, "How do you know what I'm like?! You always watch me, don't think I haven't noticed -" she paused, taking a moment to control her breathing. When she spoke again, her voice was carefully measured.

It appeared to Mai that Yamada’s spirit had one _hell_ of a reason to be drawn to Haruka! Judging from the memory she was being shown, he had practically been stalking her when he was _alive._

_Why didn't she mention this before?_

Mai continued to listen.

_There must be more to the story._

"You only think you know me.” Haruka quietly reiterated, “That's not love, that's just an obsession."

Mai watched as her friend turned away, hiding her pained expression from the bewildered boy. It was hard to tell if she was scared of Yamada, or if she regretted how harsh she had been in order to dissuade him. Perhaps it was a little of both?

“Obsessed, huh?” Yamada echoed, no longer smiling, "Maybe you are the same as the others, after all."

Mai felt helpless as she watched the exchange. She could only observe the past, not change it. As her surroundings began to fade, she wondered why she'd been shown this particular memory.

_Something just doesn’t feel right._

_There has to_ _be more to the situation..._

 

-x-

 

Naru was beginning to regret using his power twice in one day (once on the keys and again on Mai’s destroyed door). Lin might have not have had cause to suspect him of the first use, but the second? He would be in for a lecture the moment his parent's leash saw the damage.

What he hadn't foreseen was the need to carry Mai. Though she was small, he was worn out and her occasional thrashing didn't make his endeavour any easier.

To his great relief, the bundle of trouble he held appeared to be coming round. If only he had thought to factor in her _reaction_ to waking up. As with most things pertaining to his vibrant assistant, her response was immediate and generous. The second her cinnamon eyes snapped open, Mai swung violently in his arms, her surprise throwing him off balance.

Now he was staring up at the sky in frustration.

If he'd been more familiar with the area, maybe he could have found somewhere to rest while Mai woke, sparing them an uncomfortable landing. As it was, he would have his share of bruises and awkward memories.

The first stage of their fall had been painful, but minimal. It was Mai's attempts to get her bearings that had ultimately been his undoing. Naru could hardly fault her surprise under the circumstances, but had it really been necessary to shove him to the ground?

For reasons he couldn't quite explain, the unexpected action lit a fire under his skin.

In some ways the sensation reminded him of their more heated arguments, but anger had very little to do with his sudden compulsion to return the favour. Her face was flushed and her eyes were wild. The hands that had pushed him down now twisted in his shirt's dark fabric. Their immediate peril had passed, but the adrenaline singing through his veins made Naru wonder if he was facing danger of a different kind.

Before he could dwell on what form that danger might take, Mai's mood dropped dramatically.

Her once flushed features were now rapidly turning white and although he planned never to admit this to himself, Naru panicked. He had a tried and true method of distracting her and without a second thought, he used it.

 

-x-

 

Mai wasn't sure what to be more embarrassed about. Finding herself in Naru's arms and knocking him to the ground? Perhaps looking down to find she was dressed in _only his coat_ and a damp _towel_?! Not to mention that the last place she remembered being was _alone in her shower_ and Mai was beginning to dread the connections her brain was making.

Aside from a few pedestrians (who were clearly avoiding the scene they made), Naru was the only other person in sight. Naru, who had a talent for showing up when she was in trouble. _Naru_ , who she had thrown her keys at and could have let himself into her home. Okay, he had never been to her house before, but he definitely had her address in his records. She wouldn't have been that hard to find.

 _No. Just_ no _._

This wasn't happening, Mai told herself. She was still dreaming.

_Please let this be some kind of dream!!!_

"Could you get off?" Naru interrupted her internal dialogue, clearly uncomfortable, "You're heavier than you look."

If she had been thinking clearly, Mai might have recognised the throw away insult for exactly what it was: a means of distracting her from more than just her own mortification. Perhaps she would have wondered what her boss was trying to hide and been surprised to contemplate that she may not be alone in her discomfort.

Unfortunately thinking clearly didn't exactly go hand in hand with this level of embarrassment. It was so much easier to be angry.

"H-how could – how could you say that!" She spluttered, "After everything -" Mai choked mid-sentence, tears forming in her eyes. Anger could only mask her true feelings for so long. In truth, she was too upset to maintain the facade and rapidly growing too tired to care.

Abandoning all semblance of composure, Mai started sobbing. She bit her lip, curled up into a protective ball engulfed by her stupid boss's giant black coat and glared at its owner though bleary eyes. Her challenge was clear.

 _Cope with_ this _._

Naru wouldn't know what to do with a crying girl, so they were even. For the insult at least, Mai amended. She had no idea how to feel about everything _else_.

For once, it appeared she had managed to get the one up on her boss. Mai wasn't sure how to feel about that, either.

"Here," he held out her shoes as a peace offering, "I managed to grab these on the way out."

Sniffling, Mai wiped her face on the collar of his jacket and took the shoes. Whatever had happened in her apartment, Naru had somehow managed to save her. Again. She wasn't sure that she was ready to hear the specifics, but she knew enough to be relieved he had been there.

Though given their current situation, Mai couldn't bring herself to thank him just yet. She settled on a compromise - telling him off.

"You could have been a little more sympathetic."

Naru remained silent, merely offering her his hand. Taking it would mean more than simply accepting his assistance. She knew him well enough by now to see his extended hand as the apology it was.

She slid her fingers alongside his.

Lifting her to stand with him, Naru used his free hand to make an overdue phone call.

"Lin."

Mai was standing close enough to hear the older man start to respond, but Naru cut him off. She shot him an unimpressed look.

_Didn't your parents teach you any manners?_

It was one of those rare moments when she felt as if they were perfectly in sync. Whether or not her mysterious employer possessed some sort of telepathic ability was anyone’s guess, but she _knew_ the meaning behind his answering smirk.

_“They tried.”_

Mai didn't doubt it. She couldn't see him being any less stubborn as a child than he was now.

_Maybe cuter, though._

She imagined a tiny, sullen Naru avoiding her gaze. There was no helping it - Mai couldn't contain the spark of laughter that lit up her frayed nerves. Her outburst drew a glance from the subject of her reverie that she could only interpret as, 'Now is _not_ the time'.

When his protest only served to ignite further glee, Naru ignored her.

"Mai appears to have taken work home with her." She heard him say by way of explanation.

Listening to the two of them speak was like deciphering some sort of mono-syllabic code. In a mere handful of words Naru had informed Lin of the heart of their circumstances without a trace of detail.

Did finding comfort in his sizeable omissions make her a hypocrite? She usually perceived her boss’s penchant for minimalism as evasive and moderately insulting.

_Maybe I’ll try not to take it quite so personally in the future._

Naru usually had his reasons, after all. Mai just couldn’t guarantee that she would agree they were _good_ reasons.

 

-x-

 

Lin stared down at his phone.

That his charge had hung up on him was nothing new, but this was the first time Lin had been tempted to laugh at a predicament Martin and Luella’s boy had found himself in.

He _would_ have laughed if the situation had been less dangerous. Naru hadn’t revealed any details, but Lin didn’t need them. He was used to reading between the lines (working with Naru, you had to). Admittedly, his own conversational skills were nothing to brag about, but SPR’s leader always seemed to take it that one step further.

So Mai needed to borrow some clothes from Maeda?

He shuddered to think what he would find waiting for him by the time he arrived with the van.

_Mai, no matter how much he probably deserves it, for my sake, please don’t kill him._

Lin fisted his keys and was half way to the door before he noticed the suspicious looks SPR’s irregulars were giving him. They had returned some time ago, surprised to find both Mai _and_ Naru gone. The monk had even managed to stop arguing with the miko (which in itself was rare) and was looking at him with an expression Lin was beginning to find moderately disturbing.

Did everyone here have some kind of internal radar that informed them when Mai was in trouble? If not that, then they definitely knew how to sniff out potential gossip.

"I'm going to pick up Taniyama-san." Lin turned his attention towards the girl Naru had recommended keeping close, "Maeda-san, is your house nearby?"

She nodded, adding her own inquiry, "Would I be able to come with you? I phoned to let my family know that I would be assisting SPR’s investigation, but it’s getting late."

Lin almost smiled.

_Perfect._

He accepted her request, which only served to leave the others even more suspicious of him. It wasn't quite the response he was hoping for, but at least they didn't ask him any questions.

They were well out of earshot when the young girl beside him asked for the real reason he was giving her a lift home. Surprised by the girl's insight and grateful for her co-operation, Lin rewarded her with a short, yet honest answer.

"Taniyama-san will need to borrow some of your clothes."

To his amazement, Haruka laughed.

"So that's why you didn't want to tell the others!” She managed to exclaim past her amusement, “Bou-san would have done something drastic – he acts more like an older brother than a colleague...”

This time, Lin really _did_ smile.

 

-x-

 

All things considered, Mai thought she was doing as reasonable job of keeping her head. Naru had given her a task to focus on now that she was able to assist him and for a while, focus she had. Finding a nearby spot where they could comfortably wait for Lin had effectively held her attention.

That was no longer the case.

She had been left alone with someone whose conversational skills generally proved minimal at best and was rapidly losing ground against a tidal wave of anxiety.

What were the others going to say when she showed up wearing basically nothing but Naru's _coat_? Even if the implications might momentarily knock Masako off her metaphorical throne, the reality of the situation was hardly something to be jealous of.

She'd been stalked by a spirit, dragged through her neighbourhood in a very noticeable, very embarrassing fashion and to top it all off? Naru had seen her _naked_. There was no way he couldn't have, yet here he was - acting as if absolutely _nothing_ had happened.

_Well, maybe not "nothing"._

It was hard to tell, but it was almost as if he was a little _too_ collected. Mai felt an irrational spike of irritation.

_...How can he be so calm?!_

Without warning, his steel blue eyes snapped towards her. She felt her breath hitch in surprise and forgot to maintain her glare.

“Lin won’t be far away.” He supplied, breaking the silence. Coming from anyone else, Mai would have assumed they were comforting her. Coming from Naru, she found the remark puzzling. It was unlike him to volunteer information.

“He'll be bringing a change of clothes...” Naru helpfully clarified, continuing to throw Mai’s expectations off balance. She might have been fooled, if not for the unmistakable trace of mirth creeping into his voice.

“...so you'll be able to return my coat.”

Mai couldn't decide if she should be relieved or if she should hit him. Maybe both – she could hit him and feel relieved. How like him, to help her with one hand and bait her with the other!

“It’s a little damp,” She retorted, “I’m not sure what good it will do you until it dries.”

He was quiet for a moment, assessing her. Mai felt her mouth go dry.

“It seems to be functioning well enough.” There was something earnest mixed in with the hint of humour at her expense and she had _no idea_ what it meant. How on earth was she supposed to respond to that?!

She huddled deeper into his jacket.

 “...I’m not giving it back.”

Her stubborn declaration forced a soft huff from his lips, “That’s called stealing, Mai.”

 

-x-

 

When Lin returned Naru and Mai (now dressed in Maeda’s clothes and no one else the wiser), it was unsurprising that Takigawa was the first one to start fishing for information. The monk was a protective man by nature and like many others in their group, had a significant soft spot for SPR’s unassuming brunette.

Ignoring the large, tawny blonde’s antics, Naru informed the group of their adjusted duties.

"Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san, you will be with Lin tomorrow morning. We need to set up a second base and cameras in Mai’s apartment.”

The commotion caused by his words was considerable. Naru tuned it out in favour of making further preparations. If they were going to monitor both locations, he would prefer to have a few extra hands on deck. There was also the matter of making sure Mai and Maeda were kept out of harm’s way - a task that sounded simple enough, but in his assistant’s case, rarely proved easy to accomplish.

He called John first, updating the exorcist on the situation. The phone call was brief, to the point and he had a definite answer within minutes. Naru bit back a sigh, knowing his conversation with their spirit medium would most likely only have one element in common with John’s.

As suspected, Hara’s answer came quickly enough. She sounded a little less delighted than she claimed, but no less eager to rework her schedule for his sake. Though he knew her motivation was muddled with a desire to gain his favour, Naru did not doubt she would have gone to the same lengths for a stranger in trouble. For all she and Mai seemed to take issue with one another, compassion was a trait they shared.

After securing more reinforcements and making it clear that Mai would not be going _anywhere_ alone, Naru checked the current readouts before settling down for the night.

Eyes growing heavy, he found himself staring at the ceiling. The sound of pages being turned caught his attention and steadily became harder to tune out. At first he assumed one of the other men staying in the room was doing some late night reading and turned to criticise the decision, but their beds were empty.

Though Lin and the monk were nowhere to be seen, he was not alone.

_...Mai?_

She should be in the room with Matsuzaki. Foggily he debated telling her off for going somewhere by herself, but knowing Mai she would point out that she was with him and therefore, _not_ alone. Besides, he had no idea how she had come to be here.

She had yet to look at him, Naru realised. Something about that small detail gave him pause.

Mai usually looked at him. Even when she didn’t, it was like she was always aware of his presence – the "Mai" in front of him didn’t seem to register his existence at all.

“Hurts, doesn’t it.” She accused, now making a show of ignoring him. Naru had to admit _that_ was more like the Mai he knew, though something still seemed off. He looked for anything else that struck him as being out of place.

_The title of her book was in English._

“Who are you?” He demanded, eyes narrowing dangerously. He was beginning to think he should have led with "what" instead of "who".

She blinked up at him in surprise, an action so much like the real thing that Naru began to doubt himself.

“You haven’t figured it out?” She purred, setting aside the book, “Not even a little?”

She was closer now. Very close.

“I could spell it out,” Mai offered, leaning up to whisper in his ear, “for your benefit.”

Naru recalled saying something similar to the real Mai on occasion. What _was_ this - some kind of dream?!

She laughed, “Guess I don’t have to spell it out after all.”

“I’m dreaming.” He felt the need to say it out loud, to confirm it somehow. That would explain how she had responded as much to his thoughts as she had the words he’d spoken.

_I’m dreaming about Mai..._

For the second time that day he felt her push him down. The re-enactment of the memory wasn’t lost on him.

“Do you want to know what it’s like?” She offered gently, something akin to desperation lacing her tone, “What it might be like to have me? To be mine?”

There was no judgement, no rejection in her eyes. Her invitation was clear in more than just her speech, but there was no trace of coercion. Convincing, tempting and swaying him, were all on the table but ultimately it was his choice to make.

A simple "yes" or "no" to a single question.

Did he want her?

She smiled down at him, urging him one last time for the fun of it. By now she must already know his answer.

“Aren’t you _curious_?”

_Yes._

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

There was something earnest mixed in with the hint of humour at her expense and she had _no idea_ what it meant. How on earth was she supposed to respond to that?!

She huddled deeper into his jacket.

 “...I’m not giving it back.”

Her stubborn declaration forced a soft huff from his lips, “That’s called stealing, Mai.”

She sent him a flat look. “According to you and Yasuhara-san, it’s called "borrowing".”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there is a second possible omake on my tumblr if anyone is interested. I didn't want to clutter things up by posting more than one. Oddly enough neither of them is the original XD  
> mayurei.tumblr.com is my main blog
> 
> The story will probably start to look less and less like the original (because I can't leave well enough alone), but it should still have the same over all structure.  
> W̶h̶o̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶.
> 
> Many thanks again to my beta ArtzGromet <3


	5. Call, Interrupted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is that a new chapter title? Why yes it is - because apparently I've reached the point where I've started deviating wildly from the source material. ̶W̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶c̶k̶.̶  
> Many thanks to my beta reader, ArtzGromet <3

**_Day 2_ **

 

What. Was. _That._

Naru glared down at his traitorous, sweat soaked body. He could already feel his mood affecting the room temperature and at the rate things were going he wasn't going to need a cold shower. Grabbing fresh clothes and a towel, Naru was relieved to find he had woken up before the other two men, giving him first dibs in the bathroom. Cold or not, he still needed to clean himself.

_Especially after a dream like that._

Naru felt his face start to grin at the memory and had to resist the urge to slap himself. What was wrong with him?! A little part of his brain casually supplied a question of its own - was it really so bad that he found his assistant attractive? He'd been eager enough in his "curiosity" last night.

For the first time in his life, the psychic prodigy wondered if thinking was overrated.

 

-x-

 

Naru and Mai had been avoiding each other like the plague since their first encounter of the morning, stumbling painfully around each other as the group ate breakfast. Considering the need for a second base at Mai's home, it was obvious that something had happened, but no one would say _what_. It was driving Ayako crazy and after one too many awkward exchanges, the redhead cracked.

"Just what is going on between you two?!" She demanded once she cornered the person most likely to cave and give her an answer. Mai blushed to the tips of her ears.

_Jackpot._

There was no way she was letting this slide! Or so she thought. Ayako hadn’t so much as dredged a sentence out of the blushing part-timer before Lin chose that moment to swoop in and enlist the girl's assistance. Apparently Naru "needed her". _Sure_ he did, the miko sniggered, just maybe not for the task she'd hurried off to help him with.

That Mai would comply so eagerly simply to avoid spilling the beans spoke volumes. The situation must be worse ~~or better~~ than she thought.

If only she could wrestle some information out of Lin! He definitely knew more than the rest of them, but trying to strong arm answers out of the stoic man wouldn't get her very far. She may as well try talking to a wall.

_A giant, attractive, impenetrable wall..._

It was a pity he wasn't interested. Ayako didn't take it personally - she wasn't so hard up that she had time to bother with dispassionate men. Honestly she found the tall, dark man somewhat intimidating. How Mai had managed to make Lin open up to her was a mystery. Then again, Mai did seem to have a knack for breaking down the defences of brooding, silent types.

Ayako pursed her lips in quiet frustration. She had even asked Maeda what she knew, only to learn that Lin had dropped the girl home before collecting the floundering couple, so no luck on that front.

Sympathetically, the miko's gaze sought out Takigawa. He seemed as troubled as she was, if not more so. It was almost comical. Scattered between the suspicious glares shot at their employer were the imploring, heart-felt pleas of "don't you trust me enough to tell me" and horrified accusations of "what did he _do_ to you" directed at the flustered young woman. Honestly, the monk should just adopt her and make their relationship official.

The tawny haired man must have felt her watching him, for he turned to meet her gaze, silently promising her answers to the question that had been eating away at them since last night.

_What happened in Mai's apartment?_

 

-x-

 

The lounge room was a mess. It was like something out of a spy movie - the protagonist returns home to find no stone unturned in a frantic search for the treasure they most protect at all costs - or at least, that was how it would have looked if it weren't for the blood red writing covering Mai’s walls.

Takigawa stared despairingly at the obsessive scrawls, knowing full-well who was going to have to clean it up.

 _How did such an innocent looking girl attract_ _so much trouble?!_

Sighing in defeat, he identified the cupboards most likely to hold cleaning supplies and helped himself to a bucket and scrubbing brush. Lin was currently on the phone, presumably updating their boss on the extent of the damage.

"Lucky..." Takigawa griped half-heartedly. It wasn't as if Naru’s right hand man was afraid of a little dirt, but Ayako had also left him alone with the arduous task. She was performing an exorcism in the bathroom (which strongly suggested why Naru and Mai had been dancing around each other all morning), but the monk suspected she was purposely taking her time to avoid helping him clean the walls.

"Why couldn't I have done the exorcism?" Takigawa muttered as he scrubbed, "Instead of someone who is only useful occasionally…"

He was answered by a sharp, controlled smack to the back of his head. Apparently he'd been wrong about Ayako dragging her heels.

She'd changed out of her ceremonial robes before coming to aid him, judging from the rubber gloves clenched in her fist. So that's what she'd hit him with.

"Well, sorry for being so useless!" The fiery redhead growled. "I suppose you don't want my help after all?"

He faltered, panicking at the suggestion. "No! No, I wouldn't say that…"

Ayako huffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she pulled on the gloves. Takigawa was grateful, but tuned out her typical show of unsubstantiated confidence. He hoped she was right this time. He didn’t want to get accustomed to scrubbing blood off Mai's walls.

 

-x-

 

She hadn't come.

 _They_ had come to look for him, to hunt him, but Mai was nowhere to be found. That dick, Naru wasn't here either. He must be keeping her away from him.

_How regrettable._

He knew what it was like, to be betrayed and trapped by those who were supposed to care for you. She must be suffering a great deal.

For now he would hide, the spirit decided. Eventually one of their group would lead him back to Mai.

_It was just a matter of time..._

 

-x-

 

Requesting Maeda's continued assistance proved simple enough. Niramitsu seemed eager to comply with SPR's needs in what the ghost hunter suspected was an effort to spend as little time in his company as possible. How much of the principal's aversion pertained to his chosen profession was unclear, but their first meeting had certainly been memorable. Naru was not unused to being disliked.

As students filtered into the base with accounts of sightings and whispers of rumours, Naru made good use of the additional set of hands at his disposal. Maeda seemed observant (and less likely to fall asleep than Mai) so he had her watch the monitors while he and Mai conducted interviews.

There was no guarantee that Maeda was in any less danger than the assistant by his side. That Mai had elicited such a violent response from what could conceivably be Yamada's spirit had yet to be confirmed and Naru felt it best to keep both girls close by. He did _not_ want a repeat of yesterday.

Of course, Lin had protested leaving him alone with not one, but _two_ likely targets until Matsuzaki thrust protective charms into their hands. While the self-styled miko's results varied when it came to driving out spirits, her confidence in her ability to make charms was not unwarranted.

So far the school’s lull in activity continued. The only thing that struck him as being out of the ordinary was an emerging pattern in Mai's behaviour - every time the part-timer's thoughts strayed, her troubled gaze sought out Maeda. Was she worried for her, or did his assistant have cause to mistrust the girl?

Mai had yet to speak with him in detail about yesterday's excitement and he cursed his own discomfort for being a contributing factor. If nothing else, she might be able to shed some light on the meaning behind the phrase he had found scrawled on her shower.

"Not like the others…" Naru mused aloud.

The effects of his words were instantaneous. Both girls dropped everything to spin and face him – Mai staring at him in wide eyed shock while Maeda looked like someone had stepped on her grave. Clearly, the significance was not lost on them.

"Where did you -" Mai began under her breath, sounding strangled. Naru watched his intuitive assistant’s response carefully, taking note of the way her attention darted back to Maeda in concern. Mai’s panic softened at the girl’s pale features.

_Not mistrust, then._

SPR’s bleeding heart made friends quickly and cared deeply, often led by a mixture of instinct and faith. Naru doubted Maeda was an exception, but he could see there was more to Mai’s reaction than a ‘gut feeling’. She knew something.

“Why did you say that?” She rephrased, calmly enough to sound suspicious of him.

"It was written on your shower door."

He hadn't meant for the matter of fact reply to sound so personal, but it _had_. Suddenly Mai was having trouble looking at him and the room seemed entirely too small. Neither of them seemed willing (or able) to cross the chasm of silence rapidly stretching out between them and Naru was beginning to regret broaching the subject in front of an audience.

Blinded to their predicament by a growing sense of dread, Maeda began to explain her reaction the words Naru had read.

"He – Yamada-kun said that to me the day he died." She haltingly provided. "That I "wasn't like the others". I think he meant the other students at our school." Maeda looked away, drawing an arm protectively across her body, as if she was physically trying to hold herself together. "I don't think he had many friends, if any."

Naru might have been satisfied with the context she gave, if he hadn't caught the twist of conflict on his assistant's face.

_There's more to this than what she's saying._

Mai might not appreciate him pushing the issue, but he had to know.

"Did Yamada-san show signs of strange behaviour before his death?"

Maeda visibly flinched at his question. Her answer merely revealed the extent of her honesty.

"His eyes – he watched me almost constantly." She confirmed shakily. "He never actually _did_ anything bad but…"

"He scared you." Naru finished, mind racing at the potential implications. "Do you know if there were any similar instances like yours, anyone he might have held feelings for before you?"

Maeda hung her head. "No, none that I'm aware of."

During his line of inquiry, Mai had found her way to the distraught girl's side. Wrapping an arm around Maeda's shoulders in an attempt at comfort, she met his gaze with shared concern.

_...But that doesn't mean there weren't "others"._

-x-

 

After being ditched by Ayako and Lin (who seemed a little on edge about leaving Naru to his own devices for too long) Takigawa was left with the unenviable task of monitoring Mai's apartment. Back up would be on its way soon enough, but for now the monk was stuck watching the same five, unchanging views of Mai's living space.

_Riveting._

As thrilling as it was possible for this job to be at times, right now his butt was threatening to go numb and his eyes felt heavy under the light emanating from the wall of television screens. He could hardly fault Mai for occasionally falling asleep while watching the base, even if her dreams _were_ supernaturally induced.

On the other hand, he was beginning to suspect that Lin might be a freak of nature. Just how did he do this on a regular basis? When the he wasn't watching the monitors, Lin was on the computer almost 24/7. The only reason the monk could be sure that the man slept at all was due to the times they had shared a room while on case.

Takigawa drummed his fingers on the chair and started humming a tune to pass the time. He could deal with a little tedium, if it meant Mai was safe. The girl had enough on her plate without creepy things following her home.

"Maybe Ayako was useful after all..."

 

-x-

 

The miko gave a small, involuntary sneeze as she crossed the threshold of SPR's first base.

  _Someone must be talking about me._

If it was that monk complaining about her not doing her job properly, she'd have his guts for garters.

Their fearless leader was distracted (by a phone call this time, not his cute assistant) so Ayako refrained from informing the room of her successful exorcism. Lin would report to Naru soon enough and she had bigger fish to fry.

She had uncovered some effective bait since the last time she had attempted to lure this particular catch and Ayako wasn’t ashamed to use it. Slinking securely over to the young woman leafing through witness testimonies, she leant down to whisper conspiratorially in Mai's ear.

"I know your secret." With a sly smile, Ayako raked her eyes across the girl's outfit. "I take it that you're wearing Haruka-chan's clothes at the moment?"

Mai’s reaction was priceless. For a moment it looked as if the pages she held were about to be sent flying, but the young woman miraculously caught the pile before it could fully escape her grasp. Now she gripped the stack of paper like her life depended on it, cinnamon eyes rounding on the miko in a cocktail of vulnerability and defiance.

_It's no wonder Naru can't resist teasing her. She's too adorable._

"H-how did you know?!" Mai hissed, trying not to draw undue attention to herself.

The redhead’s grin grew a little wider.

“For a start, the sizes seem off.” She clarified haughtily. “I know your wardrobe is hardly tailor-made, but you usually put in a little extra effort to look good around you-know-who.”

Mai’s eyes darted in the direction of their boss at the observation, relieved that Naru didn’t appear to have heard. Ayako wasn’t finished.

“I couldn't help but notice the set of clean clothes in your bathroom," She teased before taking pity on the "fish" she had hooked. To be fair, Mai was doing a decent impression of one. "And if you had the time to throw on some old clothes, something tells me you would have taken _this_ with you." Ayako concluded, procuring the bag Mai had packed for the duration of the investigation.

The petite brunette stared up at her, thankful but no less flustered. She still hadn't managed to shake off her fish impersonation.

"You're welcome." Ayako dismissed with a wave, "You can thank me later by telling me _all_  about it."

Significantly less thankful, Mai shot her an unimpressed glare. "There's nothing to tell."

“We must have different definitions of "nothing".” Ayako muttered under her breath. It looked as if Naru was surfacing from a particularly unproductive phone call and she had no intention of stepping into his war path. She was curious, not stupid - Naru didn’t appreciate gossip.

_No sense in getting told off by a brat._

There was already a storm brewing over his features. Whatever that call had been about, the outcome must have been less than ideal.

Then again, maybe he was simply having trouble _making_ calls. His thorny disposition might have more to do with an interruption, rather than the conversation itself - Naru kept alternating between holding the phone up to his ear and glowering down at the device in front of him as if it had wronged him somehow.

He keeps getting disconnected, she realised. Perhaps the reception was bad? It was uncommon in the city, but dead zones or temporary network failures weren’t unheard of. Ayako retrieved her own phone to see if her service had been affected.

The signal was fine as far as she could tell. Then again, the problem could be on the other end.

“Um, sorry if this is a false alarm,” Maeda called from across the room, “but I was told to notify someone if anything changed...” The girl petered out, gesturing towards the readouts.

Lin closed the distance in a few strides and looked over Maeda’s shoulder.

“The shift in temperature is minor, but you did well to notice it.”

Ayako blinked. That sounded an awful lot like praise. Coming from _Lin_ , of all people. It wasn’t that she thought him unkind – just that it was rare for him to articulate anything beyond the immediately crucial. In some ways, he was even more antisocial than Naru. He had an air of politeness about him, but he generally kept his interaction with others to a bare minimum.

Throwing a cryptic look at their employer, Lin briefly explained that there could be any number of reasons for the change before taking up residence on the computer at Maeda’s side. Soon he would be quietly tapping away, updating SPR's digital copy of the case file and looking up blueprints or whatever else their baffling boss required. Lin's typing was such a constant that Ayako confessed she found the sound quite soothing on some level.

“Mai,” Naru summoned without preamble. “Call me.”

“What, _now_?” Mai’s confusion was clear, but she did as prompted. For once, Ayako actually knew what he was doing. Did the boy always have to be so ridiculously vague?

"Having trouble with your signal?" She asked, if for no other reason than to supply some form of context. "You can try mine if you like. No issues here."

It didn't take long for her magnanimous offer to be accepted once Mai's attempt to contact him ended in failure. Technically speaking, she got through, but all that could be heard on Naru's end was garbled interference.

Ayako might have teased Naru about his choice of network provider if it weren't for what happened when he tried to use _her_ phone.

"...It's the same." He stated simply, sounding almost shocked.

"What?!" She reeled back, eyes narrowed at the impassive youth. "It was working just fine!"

He held out the phone and put it on speaker to prove his point. Nothing but static. She felt a chill go down her spine.

"Lin?" As usual Naru didn’t even have to ask, Ayako could already see the man reaching into his jacket. This time Lin was the one to dial out and her shoulders sagged in relief when John's Kansai accent filtered softly into the room.

Their reprieve did not last.

Naru reached out to take the phone, summoning a cacophony of crackling, distorted and misshapen sound. Even standing a few meters away from him, it sounded like all hell had broken loose. The miko moved a little closer to Mai and prepared for a violent encounter. If this was caused by the kid Mai had dreamed about in the hallway yesterday, they sure had managed to piss him off quickly.

The noise died as suddenly as it erupted - at the exact second Naru was no longer in contact with the phone. John was confused when asked about his wellbeing or the disconcerting sound, having heard nothing but silence after Lin passed him on. The priest barely had time to find the slight delay strange before being startled by Lin’s return and the urgency in his voice.

Naru promptly passed the task of contacting Yamada’s previous school to Mai along with all subsequent calls. It was probably just as well, Ayako reasoned – their boss was many things, but a people person wasn’t one of them.

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

“Mai,” Naru summoned without preamble. “Call me, maybe.”

She stilled briefly, before turning to face him fast enough to give herself whiplash.

“Did you just use the word "maybe"?” Mai demanded, desperately seeking clarification. “As in, "I don’t already know the answer"? That kind of " _maybe"_?”

Some might find her reaction to _that word_ coming out of _Naru’s mouth_ a little extreme, but she had to be sure that she hadn’t hit her head and was lying in a ditch somewhere suffering from blunt force trauma. Honestly, that scenario seemed more plausible to her than Naru saying words like " _maybe"_.

“Forget that!” Ayako interrupted, “Did you just hit on Mai using a Carly Rae Jepsen song?!”

“It has a good beat.” Naru defended, doing nothing to calm Mai’s anxiety. She could have sworn she heard him add under his breath, “And you can dance to it, if you have no shame...”

_Kami-sama, please let someone find me before whatever got me kills me. Or let shameless, dancing Naru be a real thing._

_I’m not fussed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love Daria. I quote it a lot. Congrats if you caught the reference!


	6. Prankster in the Midst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a while, I hope you like it :)  
> Many thanks again to my comma exterminator, ArtzGromet <3  
> You know I love you, right?

What had come to be known as the "phone incident" was a mere prelude of what was to come. After it became apparent that Naru's proximity to electronics might not be in the group's best interests, even Lin had deemed adequate warning was necessary before the young man came anywhere near his computer.

Mai could honestly say she felt sorry for him - the inconvenience must be driving Naru _nuts_. He'd never been shy about delegating, but there was a big difference between assigning a task to someone else and having your hands tied. A stolen side glance told her he was faring better than expected, concentrating his efforts on what he could do rather than what couldn't.

Mai bit her lip. Really, he had no business being so attractive. She was hardly a stranger to his steel blue eyes, hidden by long lashes as he focused on work, yet her lungs constricted at the sight. Shouldn't she possess some kind of immunity by now? It was ridiculous how much the simplest of Naru's actions could affect her.

Next to her, Ayako let loose an exaggerated sigh, dropping the notes she'd been leafing through on the table in front of them. “Phantom footsteps, people trapped in rooms, disembodied laughter...” She listed out, unimpressed. “Oh, this one is my favourite -” The miko pointed out with a perfectly manicured, bright red nail, “they had to change the bus route due to the passengers hearing a sickening thud whenever they drove past the place Yamada-kun died.”

Mai shuddered. Those accounts had been particularly eerie. She could only imagine what it must have been like for the people who had witnessed Yamada's death first hand, to be reminded of it in such a way.

“I hope the bus driver has a good therapist.” Ayako muttered. “This kid's idea of a prank is totally tasteless.”

“You think they're pranks?” Mai piped up, curious to hear her perspective.

“Aren't they, though?” The miko remarked, gesturing over her shoulder at Naru. “I'm willing to bet His Majesty over here asked the principal how he could be sure that it wasn't just a bunch of students messing around.”

It did sound like him. Mai knew it wouldn't be the first time he'd rebuffed a client based on the likelihood that they were being taken for a ride.

“Look, Yamada-kun wasn't exactly at the top of the food chain. If these kids,” Ayako tapped the notes on the table for emphasis, “aren't people who made fun of him when he was alive, then they're definitely popular. Jealousy can be an ugly thing.”

"What about the incidents involving parents?" Mai posed - they had yet to finish interviewing everyone, but not all of the events followed the same pattern. While Ayako might be right about the spirit's desire to humiliate his peers, that didn't explain why the school had received a number of complaints of someone with Yamada's description verbally abusing visiting mothers.

The school had originally thought the encounters to be the result of a twisted joke and had tried to identify the people responsible but had been unable to track down the perpetrator. Any instances that might have been caught on security cameras only displayed white noise when reviewed, though there were no obvious signs of tampering with the equipment. At one point it had been theorised that the culprit did not even attend Hokoru and had simply managed to get their hands on an old uniform. This became a popular line of thought when the seasons changed along with the dress code, but the attacker's attire did not.

Of course, amongst the student body, that detail merely fuelled the growing belief that their school was haunted.

“You mean all the, "it's your fault", "I hate you", etcetera, etcetera?” Ayako surmised flippantly. “Maybe school wasn't the only place the kid had problems.”

Mai wondered if Haruka had any thoughts on the subject but her new friend said very little about Yamada unless pressed. After what she’d told Naru, Mai wasn’t surprised. Hopefully the conclusion of this case would give her some peace of mind.

Frowning, Ayako began to sift through the notes she’d discarded. “Did you manage to get in touch with the family?”

Mai pulled a face, “Not exactly.”

The miko arched an eyebrow at the non-answer. It was such a Naru-esque response that Mai briefly debated if they had all been spending far too much time with their employer, but it wasn’t as if Naru held a monopoly on the expression and Ayako hardly lacked sass.

“The Yamada's no longer live at the address the school gave us, though the father still works for the same company.” Mai elaborated. “I called them but...” She paused, wincing at the memory.

“They brushed you off?” Ayako finished for her, hazarding a guess.

“No, they put me through -” The service desk had been polite, that wasn’t the problem. “Yamada-san's father wasn't too happy about it though.”

Mai’s shoulders slumped in dismay. “I can't say I blame him.” She knew it wouldn’t be an easy call to make – talking to people about their deceased loved ones never was. “Losing his son must have been awful.”

Ayako let out a derisive scoff. “If he feels so badly, maybe he should have spent more time with the kid while he was alive.”

Mai looked up at the miko, surprised by her harsh judgement. Did something about Yamada's situation hit a nerve? Her parents were doctors, it wasn't hard to imagine how busy they must be. Or maybe she was angry _because_ her parents had found time for her despite their hectic schedules, when Yamada didn't appear to have been afforded the same courtesy?

Honestly, it was hard to see the self-assured woman harbouring resentment over a lack of familial presence in her life. For all her snark, the fiery redhead didn't come across as bitter. Blunt, opinionated and a bit spoilt maybe but not bitter.

“Look at all this,” Ayako insisted unapologetically, referring to the mess of paperwork in front of them. “And tell me - where are this guy's friends?”

Honing her point, she urged, “Where is his _family_?”

Mai could admit it wasn't hard to see where she was coming from - if Yamada hadn't died, would even a handful of people have remembered his name? They had uncovered next to nothing about anyone who might have been close to him and that included his relatives. Their consistent absence spoke louder than the limited recollections of a few staff members.

Ayako carded a hand through her hair in an effort to soothe her frustration. “Jeez, even if his home life was a mess, you'd think there'd be _someone_ who gave a damn.”

A choked sob rang out from across the room. Mai's eyes widened at the anguished sound - she didn't need three guesses to identify the source.

_Haruka!_

She rushed to the schoolgirl's side, leaving Ayako to wonder if maybe someone had cared after all.

“It's alright, Haruka-san.” Mai soothed, recalling how she'd felt when her mother died. Grief had a way of getting under your skin, tearing you apart in a million quiet ways. “It wasn't your fault.”

Regardless of the state of Haruka's relationship with Yamada, Mai was becoming increasingly aware of the girl's conflicted feelings. It had been a mistake to talk so casually about the case in front of her.

“If it's not my fault, whose fault is it?”

Mai froze at the whispered condemnation. Everything about her friend's body language screamed that no one was supposed to have heard the words she'd uttered - from her startled expression, Mai was certain Haruka hadn't meant to say anything at all.

Now that the seal had been broken, the girl's piling fears spilled forth in waves, violent and unpredictable.

“He told me I was _different..._ ” Haruka rasped out, flinching back from the comfort Mai offered, as if she didn’t believe she deserved it. “...that I wasn't like "the others".”

Hollow anger clenched the fists held taut beside her and drew Haruka’s breath in uneven stutters. “Yamada-kun thought I could help him,” She swallowed painfully, mashing her amber eyes shut, “but I pushed him away and only protected myself!”

There were many things Mai might have said.

_You weren't wrong to protect yourself. Even if you could have helped him, you weren't wrong._

_It doesn't make you a bad person._

_You didn't kill him._

She said nothing. Haruka didn't give her a chance.

Ignoring SPR's men in black and the stunned miko, the emotionally charged girl pushed past Mai's outstretched finger tips and fled. Before the door had time to slam, Mai was already moving to follow her.

A firm hand on her shoulder brought the worried brunette to a halt.

_Naru._

She looked up at him in askance. He wanted her to leave Haruka alone? Mai didn't doubt the overwhelmed student needed space, but she was surprised Naru would actually let her have it. What happened to all the precautions he had insisted the two girls take? All the, "take this, Mai", "keep it on you at all times, Mai", " _don't go anywhere alone_ , Mai". Okay, she was paraphrasing, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that his warnings were specifically constructed with her in mind. His expression when he'd handed them the charms Ayako had made couldn't have been clearer.

"Will she be alright?" Mai voiced her concerns, unsure how the rules he had explicitly laid down didn't apply in this situation.

Naru pointed to the monitors, as if that somehow explained everything. Mai shot him a look. Would it kill him to use words?

_...Possibly._

Even Superman had kryptonite, right?

_Great. Now she was comparing him to a superhero._

The worst part was that it wasn't even hard to see _why_. Okay, he might not have a secret identity, but he did have superpowers. Naru would never call them that, but that was beside the point. He told her he'd become a ghost hunter because there was a "need for it". She still wasn't quite sure what that meant, but maybe one day Naru would let her get close enough to find out.

For now, she would continue to piece her perception of him together, a little at a time. Sucking in a steadying breath, Mai turned towards the monitors and tried to work out why Naru didn’t appear remotely troubled by the idea of leaving Haruka undefended.

Most of the camera feeds were fairly unremarkable. The sight of Haruka running blindly through the school tore at her heart, but she tried to focus on the bigger picture. What had Naru seen?

_Wait -_

Mai's breath stilled as she spotted a familiar face.

_Was that...?_

Mai quickly glanced back to the monitor showing Haruka and abruptly returned to the feed which had caught her eye. It _was_.

_Oh no._

It was like watching a train wreak in slow motion. There was nothing she could do. Mai stared helplessly at the screen, watching the unassuming blonde making his way to the base as Haruka left the visibility of the camera she'd run past. It didn't take long for her to reappear on the same feed as John.

The exorcist was knocked over like a bowling pin.

_Poor John. It just isn't fair on him to have a boss like Naru._

"You knew, didn't you!" Mai accused, not waiting for SPR's leader to answer, "And here I thought you were being considerate of her feelings!"

Naru didn't even look up. "Of course I knew. I pay attention to what is going on around me."

Mai could have hit him.

"Must be rough," She drawled sarcastically, "putting up with us "mere mortals"."

This time, he did look up. She knew she was in trouble when she saw the dark glint of amusement in his eyes.

A smirk twitched at his lips. "Are you saying I'm a god?"

She flushed violently, cursing herself for not only walking straight into the implication but for providing him with the ammunition in the first place.

"If you were, you'd be a god of _ego_!" Mai shot back, unflinching under his gaze. "I can't think of anyone more qualified, can you?"

Naru's smirk widened marginally, but he chose not to bait her further. It got under her skin that she could tell it was a choice, but she'd take the win, even if it was dubious. At least she could count on his reserved nature (though perhaps she should call it "controlled") to not outwardly laugh at her.

Ayako on the other hand,  had no such qualms. "Pfft! Mai, that -" The redhead announced, gasping out between bursts of laughter, "was _fantastic_!"

                                                                                                       

-x-

 

Blinded by tears, Haruka fled down the hallway, not caring where she went. It didn't matter where - just as long as it wasn't _here_. In her haste, she rounded the upcoming corner too quickly.

Painfully quickly.

Oh god, she'd hit someone. While she was _crying_ , of all things. Was there a hole big enough for her to crawl into? Maybe the floor would be kind enough to open up and swallow her whole.

_How embarrassing._

Haruka hid behind her hands, swiping at the tears staining her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" The stranger asked, though his voice sounded familiar somehow. She couldn't quite place it. He wasn't a student, that was for sure - no uniform and she couldn't see someone with hair that blonde and eyes that blue passing by unnoticed. If he was an upperclassman or a teacher's aide, he would definitely have a very dedicated and vocal fan club.

Except - _was that a Kansai accent?_

Haruka blinked at the blonde she'd bowled over, not expecting to hear Kansai-ben out of a foreigner's mouth. Maybe he was half? She shrugged off her surprise when he cleared his throat awkwardly and Haruka realised she had yet to respond to his query.

"I'm sorry!" She scrambled to help him up as she stood, "I should've been paying more attention."

The young man accepted her offered hand and introduced himself as "John Brown".

_Ah. That's where I've heard his voice before._

Lin had called him when Naru began to have issues with his phone signal. Or, to be more precise, _any_ phone's signal. It had been explained that ghosts and technology didn't always mix, but she'd gotten the sense that Lin had been worried the cause might be something else.

In any case, she had just managed to run from SPR, right into another of their members. Literally. His blue eyes pored over her with open concern and she heard him reiterate his previous question. "I don't mean to pry, but are you alright?"

_No._

_No she wasn't._

She was anything but "alright". Overwhelmed and unable to stop the unbidden tears from blurring her vision once more, Haruka gave a shake of her head in answer. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Is there anywhere you would like to go that would make you feel safe?" John asked, "Anyone you would like to talk to?"

Haruka shrugged helplessly.

"I d-didn't have a destination in m-mind." She joked, stammering a little. Focusing on his questions helped somehow - she felt more in control of herself, despite the tears. Maybe he just had a calming voice.

Without really thinking, she told him so. The member of SPR smiled warmly. "If it helps, I'll talk to you as much as you like." He offered, "But perhaps it would be better if I listened instead?"

Haruka looked up at him in surprise. "You don't have to be somewhere?"

"I'm fairly certain I'm exactly where I need to be right now." He assured her.

Haruka stopped to assess him. Walking off alone with a stranger was not typically a good idea, but she felt no ill will from him. He was definitely someone Mai trusted, probably with her life from what she'd heard in the small amount of time she'd spent with the group.

The hallway was empty aside from the two of them and probably would be for some time. Haruka figured that was about as much privacy as she was likely to get, without checking for empty classrooms.

"Someone I knew died." She explained, "I said some things..."

The tears started flowing again - this time Haruka didn't fight them. John waited patiently for her to speak again, but when it looked like she was struggling, he filled in the blanks. "...Some things you regret?"

"Yes."

Haruka stumbled through the minefield of her conflicted feelings, telling the kind, almost-stranger about Yamada and the bus and how much she desperately, hopelessly, wished she could take back the last words she'd said to him.

"If I'd listened, if I'd ever even _talked_ to him before, he might not have died." She rambled, growing louder as she protested the unfairness of it all. "He could have still been talking to me - he wouldn't have been hit because he wouldn't have been anywhere near the bus!"

If things had unfolded differently.

If she wasn't ashamed of how she had treated him when he was alive.

If she hadn't been scared.

The blonde bobbed his head amicably but chose his words with great care. "True," He agreed, drawing out the sound in consideration, "If he had remained with you for a little longer, Yamada-san might still be alive. But!" John pointed out abruptly, before she had time to dwell on the fact that he'd agreed with her, "Good things can distract people just as much as bad things, you know?"

He paused, giving her time to mull over his suggestion before elaborating, "What if Yamada-san was so happy about being able to talk to you that he didn't watch where he was going and was hit by someone else?"

"You mean, like it was fate or something?" Haruka screwed up her face in confusion, wondering how the young man lending her his ears fit into the ranks of SPR. They all had a speciality of some sort. Maybe he was a philosopher?

John chuckled at her expression, bright blue eyes dancing briefly with mirth. "I mean," He emphasised, imitating her speech, "No one knows what might happen tomorrow, or even in the next five minutes."

To prove his point, he thrust a thumb over his shoulder at the hallway leading back to SPR's base. The corner she had blindly flung herself around, not expecting to encounter anyone on the other side.

"If that were the case, we might not have run into each other."

He made a good point, but she couldn't shake the churning unease in the pit of her stomach. "But still," She protested meekly, "He might have known that I cared - that it mattered to me that he was gone." Remembering what Mai had said to her before she ran, Haruka hung her head in shame.

"I know that it's not my fault," She admitted. "But I can't help feeling so _guilty_."

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

It was like watching a train wreak in slow motion. There was nothing she could do. Mai stared helplessly at the screen, watching the unassuming blonde making his way to the base as Haruka left the visibility of the camera she'd run past. It didn't take long for her to reappear on the same feed as John.

The exorcist was knocked over like a bowling pin.

_Poor John, it just isn't fair on him to have a boss like Naru._

"You knew, didn't you!" Mai accused, not waiting for SPR's leader to answer, "And here I thought you were being considerate of her feelings!"

Naru didn't even look up from his "beloved" files. "Of course I knew. I pay attention to what is going on around me."

In that instant, Mai would have given _anything_ to wipe the look of smug superiority off of her boss's face. She settled for muttering through ground teeth. "I would have thought it would be hard to see, considering your head is so far up your arse..."

Lin suddenly let out a snort of what sounded suspiciously like laughter - had he overheard? Or worse, had _Naru_? Panic griped her, and she said the first thing that came to mind that might offer an escape route. Anything that could prolong her life for a few more minutes.

"Would anyone like a cup of tea?"


	7. Nine-tenths of the Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting better with my use of commas! ArtzGromet only had to remove 11 this time lol

_**Day 3** _

 

Naru had never been so glad to be away from a base. While he did not consider the phenomena that appeared to be dogging him especially horrific or dangerous, it _was_ irritating. Truly, wholly, unbearably irritating.

Even if his sudden incompatibility with technology continued outside of the high school, at least he was less likely to be hampered by the issue for the time being.

As Lin had quietly "reminded" him, he had to remain calm or risk being the cause of poltergeist activity himself. (His guardian didn’t seem to be one hundred percent sure that he wasn’t, but as far as Naru was concerned his mood was providing them all with free air conditioning and they were _welcome_ , by the way).

When the opportunity arose to speak to Yamada's previous school, Naru jumped at the chance. John had returned some time ago with an apologetic Maeda in tow, much to Mai's relief and his own, albeit for different reasons. While Mai was understandably concerned for her friend's emotional wellbeing, Naru hoped John's presence might deter a reprise of Maeda's fight or flight response at an inopportune time.

The level headed priest was a welcome addition to SPR's motley crew, providing a modicum of common sense that the group often lacked once he and Lin were out of earshot. As he'd taken the tall, stoic man with him, it was safe to say that Naru appreciated John's influence.

Tilting his head to the side, Naru focused on the third member of their group. Mai appeared caught between surprise and suspicion when he'd belatedly informed her that she would be joining them, but curiosity and excitement won out in short order. Was what they did truly so captivating?

Sometimes when he looked at her exuberance, echoes of his twin pulled him away from work, calling him an "idiot scientist" and reminding him to "live a little". Like Gene, she wore her heart on her sleeve. He could read her like a book yet Mai remained a kaleidoscope of emotion, ever changing and evolving into something too bright for him to look at.

As if his thoughts had summoned her attention, Mai turned to address him. She hadn't expected to already hold his interest and stopped short when her gaze collided abruptly with his. Whatever she had been about to say died on her lips as colour bloomed across her face like a sweet, sun ripened strawberry. Naru swallowed thickly at the sight. Thoughts pertaining to Mai and ripe fruit directed him down a road he had no intention of travelling in company, let alone under the scrutiny of his guardian and the unwitting star of his fantasies.

Suddenly acutely aware of Lin's presence, it occurred to the aloof ghost hunter that someone who had known him for over half his lifetime would not easily dismiss his abnormal lapse in concentration. He no longer even _looked_ like he was reading the file in front of him.

There was nothing for it but to lie through his teeth.

Committing to his course of action, he continued to hold his flushed assistant's gaze. Lin wouldn't be fooled but maybe if he projected a calm enough exterior, he could at least convince Mai that there was nothing inherently unusual about his behaviour.

If all else failed he knew how to distract her.

He would not, under any circumstances look at Lin until the crisis was averted. It wasn't as though Lin would care who he found attractive under normal circumstances, but this was _Mai_ he was talking about. They worked together. Against all odds, Lin _liked_ her.

Naru didn't need to be told the numerous reasons why wanting her was a bad idea. How it wouldn't be fair to her when she didn't know his situation, let alone his name.

It would complicate things. He wasn't stupid.

There was a great deal about himself that he could not afford to share and Mai was terrible at keeping secrets. She'd shamelessly outed him on more than one occasion without a hint of remorse. Part of him could argue that Mai had only done so because she lacked the necessary context to understand his need for secrecy but Naru wasn't willing to risk everything he'd worked for to find out. (No matter how "curious" he was.)

The door to the conference room opened, sparing him from the subtle curve twitching at Lin's lips. The teacher introduced herself as Fujioka Jun, unsure of what to make of them. Naru knew better than to take the educator's apprehension personally. There were many people in the world that sought to sensationalise and exploit, not study unexplained phenomena. He made a point of being well versed in sleight of hand and any other techniques con artists might use to fit their preferred narrative, so as to not be fooled himself.

It was the reason he had become a ghost hunter - to prove scientifically the truth of the abilities he and his twin had been born with. To have their existence and others like them, acknowledged if not understood.

"You're from a psychic research company?" Fujioka asked, disbelief colouring her tone. "And you want to know about Yamada-kun?"

"We've been told you had more contact with him than most of your co-workers. Could you give us your impression of him?" Naru watched her silent appraisal of the three of them, unsurprised when the teacher's scepticism faded at the sight of Mai's earnest expression. It was one of the reasons he had brought her along, after all. Even if the school's staff didn't open up to her, it was likely that the students would.

Being able to keep an eye on her was an added bonus.

"He was a quiet boy. Worked well on his own, but rarely spoke up in class." Yamada's former teacher recalled. Wistfully, she added, "He loved his mother very much."

"Loved?" Mai interjected, curiosity sparked by the use of past tense.

"Ah, she was very ill - her passing was hard on him." Fujioka explained, grimacing at the memory. "It broke my heart, to see him so angry."

Naru and Lin exchanged glances at the new information. "Did his anger seem to be focused on anyone in particular?"

"Kami-sama, maybe?" She mused. "He'd just lost his mother. I wouldn't be surprised if he held a grudge against the _universe_."

 

-x-

Hara Masako fumed quietly as she stood outside Mai's apartment, rapping tersely on her rival's door. Troublesome thoughts raced through the doll-like medium's head as she waited to be let in, just as they had ever since SPR's handsome director had called to see if she could assist them sooner rather than later.

At first she'd been overjoyed, excited by the thought that he needed her, that she might have finally begun to turn his head but no. Naru had sent her to Mai's home. He'd given her _directions_ \- the kind full of small, offhand observations that meant he had to have been there before.

_What had Naru been doing in Mai's home?!_

Was he a regular visitor or had he simply come running when his precious tea-maker called for help? Masako honestly wasn't sure which answer she preferred.

_Neither. Neither would be good._

When she'd tried to persuade him to give her more details about the incident, Naru had shut down and promptly excused himself. In that moment, Masako would have given anything to understand why Naru had hired Mai.

Had he known of her latent abilities from the start? Did he simply like her spirit? The medium needed to know almost as much as she feared knowing.

Somehow everything always seemed to lead back to SPR's oblivious part-timer.

Irritably, Masako knocked again, louder this time. What was taking so long - had the monk fallen asleep? It wouldn't be the first time one of her co-workers had drifted off while covering a base, but at least the most inclined to do so was useful while she slept.

Masako felt a stab of guilt for the jealousy she harboured, remembering just how "useful" her rival could be. Alone in the dark and surrounded by what she'd refused to acknowledge as the smell of blood, the medium had nearly cried when Mai crossed the astral plane to reach her.

"About time!" The monk exclaimed, swinging open the door and startling Masako from her thoughts. "I was beginning to think Naru had forgotten about me."

The doll-like celebrity hid a mirthless smile behind her sleeve. Takigawa wasn't the only one - though perhaps their decisive leader had never truly been aware of her in the first place.

 

-x-

 

That evening John assisted Mai with a routine check of SPR's equipment, recording temperatures as they went. Naru had warned him of the potential danger to the cheerful part-timer at his side, but the ominous situation failed to dampen their spirits or conversation.

It was moments like these that led the young exorcist to marvel at his exuberant companion. She had been through so much, both during the time he'd known her and before but nothing ever kept Mai down for long. Fear was not a stranger to her, yet she would repeatedly run headlong into danger if it meant helping her friends. Mai was a force to be reckoned with and never backed down when standing up for what she thought was right.

John smiled over at her, frowning when he began to notice a pattern in her actions. Every now and again, Mai would glance over her shoulder. "Do you sense something?"

Mai jumped at the question, waving her hands in front of her as she spoke. "Ah! No - just a little jumpy I guess. I'm fine, really."

Mai smiled at him as if to prove her point. He didn't press for details, electing to remain on guard just in case. Mai's hunches were usually much closer to the truth than she gave herself credit for, but it probably wouldn't be helpful to remind her of that right now.

"If you say so, Mai-san."

 

-x-

 

She was so close.

So close, but still so far away. How could he protect her like this? He couldn't let Mai be taken from him.

_Not her too.._

That deceptive trespasser he'd delighted in tormenting had finally let her out of his sight, only to leave her in the company of yet another obstacle. Every minor interaction between Mai and the blonde all but tore him in two. She smiled, he laughed. Yamada _burned_.

Who was this intruder, to talk to the one he prized so easily?! He had waited, waited and observed and suffered her captors sickening displays of familiarity.

_Liars!_

Liars and betrayers, all of them! Disgust surged through his being at the thought that they could be with her in a way that he could not.

_Then again..._

There was only one of them, Yamada mused.

 _...Maybe he_ could _talk to Mai like that._

 

-x-

 

_It wasn't going away._

Mai was beginning to second guess herself for not speaking up when John had asked her if she'd sensed anything off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but unease had made a home in the pit of her stomach and didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. If anything, the oppressive feeling seemed to be getting stronger.

_Maybe I should say something._

Guiltily, Mai kneaded at the material of her skirt. "Um, John-san? I -"

She was abruptly cut off by her companion crashing unceremoniously into her. Abandoning the warning in favour of catching the listing priest, Mai quickly wrapped a steadying arm around her friend. "John-san! Are you alright?"

He looked up at her, smiling.

There was something familiar, yet fundamentally _wrong_ about that smile. Mai's mind raced, trying to work out why. John had never made her feel uncomfortable before, especially not when he smiled. The thoughtful priest was practically the personification of sunshine. The mere suggestion that he might somehow be a threat to her seemed utterly ridiculous.

And yet, her instincts were screaming at her.

"No, I'm alright. Just tripped is all."

Carefully slipping away from him Mai nodded in response, hiding her discomfort as they entered the next classroom.

_Then why don't your eyes look right..._

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

****

Suddenly acutely aware of the abrupt silence that surrounded him, it occurred to Naru that his overly curious employees would not easily dismiss his lapse in concentration. Or human speech.

There was nothing for it but to lie through his teeth.

No he had _not_ just "meowed" into his phone. That had definitely _not_ been his mother who insisted Toothless (their wildly inappropriately named cat) missed him. He had _not_ been duped by the adorable furry shitlord mewling pathetically into the receiver at the sound of his voice.

He had no idea why SPR's crew was looking at him like that.

_None at all._

Committing to his course of action, he continued to talk to his mother, making all the normal _human_ responses at varying intervals until Luella was satisfied. It would not be enough to fool his stunned audience, but maybe if he projected a calm enough exterior they might think better of calling him out on his unusual behaviour.

As always, Mai was a wild card.

"Naru, I feel sorry for your cat." She stated plainly. "I can't believe you give me grief about _my_ pronunciation, when you can't even say "nyaa" properly!"

Naru blinked. She was surprisingly serious in her admonition, considering the subject matter. He briefly debated if it was worth arguing the merits of "meow" over "nyaa", just to see his cute assistant repeatedly make cat noises at him.

It might almost be worth the embarrassment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This omake is based on something I have personally done before, though to a much greater extent than Naru.  
> I was also in a Theatre at the time. Surrounded by strangers.  
> Yep, just finished watching Shakespeare, now excuse me while I go make cat sounds into my phone.


	8. Crawling In My Skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long.
> 
> Thank you for your patience!
> 
> And as always, thank you @ArtzGromet for your help since I am a grammar menace.

Something was wrong. One of the monitors had started snowing static shortly after Mai and John had shown up on a nearby camera feed.

It could simply be electrical interference but Lin didn't believe in coincidences.

"Naru!" He barked out sharply, without further explanation. More than a handful of words between them was often unnecessary and in an emergency, not only wasteful but costly. SPR's director didn't need to be told twice. A quick glance at the wall of monitors and Naru was on his feet moving for the door, cursing under his breath as he went.

He didn't believe in coincidences either.

-x-

 

That smile, Mai knew now where she'd seen it before - in a dream, or more accurately a memory. It didn't belong on John's face.

Why did this sort of thing always happen to her? Did she have a sign on her forehead that read, "Please attack me"?! At this point, Mai wouldn't be surprised.

There was no one in sight. She doubted anyone who might hear her scream for help could make it in time and they were on the third floor. In other words, jumping out the window didn't look like a valid option. Mai supposed that if she could somehow distract "John" for long enough she might be able to climb out onto a window ledge or something, but that would put her in a situation more dangerous than the one she was already in. Plus it wasn't like she could just leave a friend like this, right?

She'd been in worse situations than being stuck in a room with an obsessive ghost, even if he was currently possessing one of her friends. Sure, she was scared. It would be weird not to be but Yamada had yet to harm her - she just needed to figure out how to _keep_ it that way.

Moving rigidly towards one of the cameras she and John had been assigned to check, Mai felt the ghost mimic her actions, following close behind. It would be difficult but if she could somehow signal to Lin that they were in trouble, she might be able to play along and buy some time.

Mai willed her hands to stop shaking. Reaching towards their salvation, panic clawed at her heart when she realised the camera was malfunctioning.

_No, wait - that might be a good thing._

Lin was far more likely to notice a down monitor than any one-off signal she could come up with. If she played her cards right, she might even be able to convince John (or in this case, Yamada) to come back to the base with her.

Concentrating on slowing her pounding heartbeat, Mai swallowed her fear, attempting to keep her breathing even and her voice calm. "The camera's playing up - we need go back and report it to Naru."

John would have pointed out that surely Lin would have done that already, but the boy wearing his face said nothing, merely frowning at the mention of SPR's leader. Carefully measuring the speed of her footsteps to avoid suspicion, Mai led the way back to the base. For a while "plan: get help" seemed to be running smoothly - so smoothly that Mai began to second guess herself. What if John _had_ been possessed, but wasn't now? Was that possible? What if she'd been wrong from the start?

She shook her doubts aside. She knew John. That smile did not belong to him and there had been other discrepancies as well. If he was somehow back to being himself, that was great and at worst they were getting some extra exercise. Naru might raise an eyebrow and imply something salty about how unusual it was for her to listen to anything resembling a sense of self preservation but he'd be relieved.

"Ah, Mai-san?" The blonde trailing behind her tried to catch her attention, "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

She stopped in her tracks, adrenaline spiking rapidly as she tried to pin point anything familiar about their surroundings. Everything looked the same.

_Don't tell me I've wandered off again!_

She'd been so wound up that she hadn't been paying attention to the number of turns. Of all the times to get lost! Mai blinked back tears, hoping her inattention wouldn't have too high a cost.

"Don't worry." John's voice assured, except it was accompanied by _that smile_ again. How could she not worry?

"We passed some stairs at the end of that corridor," He gestured over his shoulder. "We should be able to find the way from there."

Yes, but the way to _what_? Mai wondered. Would Yamada really take her back to the base? Could it be that simple?

"Is something wrong? You seem a little distracted."

"I-it's nothing!" Mai laughed hesitantly, waving him off. "I was just thinking that Naru would never let me hear the end of it if he finds out I got lost again."

"I won't tell him if you don't."

The comment was clearly supposed to be comforting, the sharing of a private joke, but there was an edge to John's voice that chilled Mai to the core. Should she run? Yamada knew the school, every available place she might flee to before she even tried. She might evade the ghost for a while, but what would happen to John if she did?

No, it was best to stay the course. Even if she could escape, Mai had no intention of doing so at the cost of a friend's safety. Naru could chew her out for it later if he wished, when everyone was safe.

 

-x-

 

It was always like this when Mai was in trouble. Naru would rush in without thought for his own safety (or the people who had to protect _him_ ), displaying the same reckless abandon that SPR's leader often found exasperating in the cheerful part-timer. Secretly, Lin wondered how much of Naru's annoyance was directed at the danger she repeatedly threw herself in and how much was due to the fact that she didn't do it _just_ for him.

Truth be told, he also cared for the girl more than he wished to admit but Lin had a feeling it ran much deeper in Naru than the young man knew how to deal with. It was painfully obvious how she felt about him, even without witnessing the times she would wake up murmuring his name. If her affection had been directed at anyone but their emotionally oblivious employer, Mai would have captured their heart already, Lin mused.

Then again, looking at the determined expression Naru wore gave him hope for her endeavour. He almost felt sorry for anyone who might get in between the two.

_Almost._

 

-x-

 

Mai had been alarmed when he entered the blonde's body but the spirit didn't consider her reaction surprising. She had seen him in the hallway after all, spoken to him as if he were as solid as the ground beneath her feet. He hadn't even been trying to draw attention to himself. Her sensitivity to him just further proved the strength of their connection in Yamada's mind.

She intended to take him back to her so-called friends, probably worried for the safety of the one he inhabited - but what of her own safety? That man was dangerous. He was sure they were all a threat. Mai was simply too kind to see the truth.

... _Just like mother._

He hadn't been able to save his mother, or her memory. Yamada refused to fail Mai. In her distraction  he saw an opening, leading her downstairs and away from Naru. Deception left a bitter taste in his mouth but he would do this and more to protect her. She would understand. She had accepted him, he repeated like a mantra. Of course she would understand.

_She wasn't like the others…_

"Yamada-kun?" Mai whispered tentatively, "Where are you taking me?"

The ghost stopped short. She recognised him, truly. He hadn't been wrong. Mai really _was_ different from the others! _Different, different!_ His mind sang giddily.

"Where are you taking me?" She repeated, the gravity in her voice bringing him back to earth. Yes, she knew him but Mai still thought of those people as her friends.

He couldn't risk it. He couldn't lose her.

She struggled. He accepted the burden of regret. This too, she would have to understand. Grim determination held his borrowed hand over her mouth until Mai's efforts to fight him gradually subsided. He kissed her forehead in apology and promise.

"Somewhere safe."

 

-x-

 

Mai and John were nowhere to be found. Cameras had been able to track their actions up to a point but the knowledge they provided had yet to produce the softly spoken priest or the root cause of a great deal of Lin's stress. All available hands were on deck, including Takigawa and Hara, recalled from the second base to frantically comb the school for SPR's missing members.

"She should have been _safe_!" Matsuzaki lamented, disturbed that the charm she'd provided Mai with had failed to protect her. And maybe she might have been Lin thought, if the crumpled charm hadn't later been found underneath a desk in one of the school's many classrooms.

"It must have fallen out of her pocket..." The monk trailed off in dismay. Naru's fingers twitched with the temptation to drag a hand down his face in a show of sheer frustration. Instead, he momentarily steadied himself on the desk and took a deep breath before ordering everyone to fan out and keep looking. That was how it would look to the majority of their group, at least. Naru might be able to disguise the use of his power to those who were unaware of his capabilities but he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could fool Lin.

The boy was going to send them both to early graves.

Naru might only succeed in harming himself, but his mother was the one who would bury Lin beside him. Hell, he couldn't even say that he'd hold it against her. Losing one son had to be hard enough, let alone a second in his mirror image.

Lin wondered who he'd wronged in another life, to warrant the trials Naru frequently presented him with. Perhaps he too had once frustrated someone to the point that watching him struggle had become a guilty pleasure. Lin had been hard pressed not to laugh when Naru had mistakenly made the assumption that Maeda would agree to go home.

"No." Mai's new-found friend announced. "I'm staying."

His charge crooked an eyebrow at their latest tag-along. "Wouldn't your parents have something to say about that?" Naru countered flatly, already tiring of the conversation.

"My parents want me _safe_." She pointed out, defiantly. "Will I be safe if I go home?"

Lin's lips twitched at Naru's put out expression and was rewarded with a doubly unimpressed glare. Returning his attention to Maeda, Naru stood up a little straighter, folding his arms across his chest. Had he been much younger, the action would have made him look petulant rather than haughty.

"...Probably."

The student levelled him with a look that clearly read: " _Probably isn't good enough."_

"I know the school," Maeda reminded him, ignoring Naru's rapidly darkening mood. "I know the students. I can help you find your people faster and you _know_ it."

She wasn't wrong. SPR was perfectly capable of finding their missing members but Maeda's familiarity with the area was an asset Naru wouldn't usually turn away, unless he considered it an unnecessary risk.

"Won't you require a change of clothes...?" He wearily suggested in a last ditch effort to dissuade her.

"Nope!" She merrily parried with an all-too-sweet smile, "After yesterday, I came prepared." Naru met her determination with pure steel in his gaze but either she was braver than anyone had first thought or she'd been watching SPR's leader interact with Mai enough that she'd come to the conclusion that their boss was "all bark and no bite". It wasn't an entirely accurate assessment but Lin knew that the young man could be an absolute push over when confronted with anyone whose method of attack reminded the boy just a little too much of Madoka.

Lin thought it was an understandable reaction, given what Naru's mentor was capable of.

"...Fine." Naru sighed, fingers twitching again. Maeda grinned up at him, sincerely this time, allowing herself a moment to believe in him, in _them_ , before wisely slipping away to make herself useful. Lin paused to watch Naru's demeanour change once the onslaught of social awkwardness had passed. The boy might be internally having conniptions but every move he made was with purpose. They would find John and Mai. It was simply a matter of how and when.

Lin was far more worried about the "how" than the "when".

 

-x-

 

Searching blindly was getting them nowhere. Once the trail had gone cold, the misplaced charm found, and they had yet to see any further sign of John or Mai, Naru started looking for a moment to quietly slip away. Lin knew him far too well to overlook what they both knew he was planning and honestly Naru could do without a pointless attempt to dissuade him.

The problem was what to use? He could "read" anything belonging to either of his missing employees, but if he wanted to avoid Lin's judgement for as long as possible, something small and easily hidden would be ideal. John tended to carry very little that he could not store in his pockets but perhaps he'd left his bible back at the base. If nothing more suitable could be found, Naru hoped it could at least serve as a backup plan. He tried to remember if Mai had left anything potentially useful out in the open, but for her tendency to admire cute knickknacks, Mai wasn't in the habit of cluttering her working space with them. Ordinarily he found her unexpected practicality relieving but if he wanted to find the trouble magnet sooner rather than later, it was going to take a bit more effort than simply palming something off her desk.

She really did enjoy making life difficult for him, didn't she. Naru felt his lips quirk involuntarily and resolved to evade Lin's watchful gaze as soon as possible. Opportunity knocked in the form of maps of the surrounding area. There was no guarantee that John and Mai were still on school grounds. It seemed prudent to be prepared and served as an adequate distraction while he set about locating the bag Mai had been carrying this morning. Fortunately, she appeared to have no qualms about decorating her belongings.

The sound of footsteps. He hadn't been fast enough.

Naru paused, drawing back from Mai's bag but he didn't turn around. Whatever lecture he was about to endure, it was unlikely to alter his course. Lin knew that better than anyone.

"She cried, you know."

 _Ah._ He hadn't expected Lin to fight dirty. If he'd had it in him to feign stupidity, Naru might have asked who Lin was referring to. His mother, perhaps.

_It was Mai. Of course it was Mai._

There weren't that many people who were generous enough with their feelings to cry for someone like him. Why Hara persisted in cajoling him into dates was beyond him. Maybe she just liked to show off his face, or simply enjoyed ordering him around. He respected the medium's skills but even he didn't pretend to understand her motivation.

He could comprehend Mai's even less.

Lin, on the other hand, he understood just fine. His guardian could be counted on to protest the use of his powers, but knew Naru's limits. Knew that he would utilise the techniques the older man had drilled into him since he was a child. A touch here and there, Lin might turn a blind eye to, as long as Naru didn't over do it. That didn't mean that he wouldn't continue to serve as a constant reminder of the consequences however, should he lose control.

"You're no use to anyone in a hospital bed."

"I'll try to avoid inconveniencing you." Naru conceded. It wasn't as if he enjoyed near death experiences either.

Lin scoffed, but didn't stop him from reaching out for a decorative charm on Mai's bag. Carefully, he removed what appeared to be a worn, ghost shaped object that might have made him smile under different circumstances and dipped his consciousness into its connection with his missing assistant.

 

_Fear..._

_Deep breaths..._

_That smile again._

_So many hallways, all the same!_

_I can’t leave John alone..._

_He will be angry with me, but he will find me._

_He always does._

_“Where are you taking me!”_

_Stop..._

_Don’t do this..._

_I can’t_

 

_b   r           e_

_a              t_

_h_

_e_

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

Lin, on the other hand, Naru understood just fine. His guardian could be counted on to protest the use of his powers, but knew his limits. Knew that he would utilise the techniques the older man had drilled into him since he was a child. A touch here and there, Lin might turn a blind eye to, as long as Naru didn't over do it. That didn't mean that he wouldn't continue to serve as a constant reminder of the consequences however, should he lose control.

Lin was also of the opinion that Naru, Mai and the concept of "control" didn’t currently belong in the same room, let alone the same sentence.

"You're no use to anyone in a hospital bed."

“Lin.” The name was a growled warning and a pained plea rolled into one raw act of defiance. “You don’t understand...”

Naru met his assistant’s displeasure with what felt like some distorted, desperate parody of himself. Despite the shock his countenance inspired in Lin, the air had yet to spark or the furniture to float, so Naru felt fully justified in his course of action.

“...just how much...”

He reached out his hand for a worn, decorative charm hanging from Mai’s bag.

“...I need...”

His fingers closed around the prize.

“...a cup of tea.”


	9. If These Walls Could Speak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta reader, [ArtzGromet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtzGromet/profile)
> 
> and to [Raeseddon](http://raeseddon.tumblr.com/) for the Omake idea!

" _Naru!_ " Lin yelled, catching him before he could hit the floor. Gasping for air, Naru ripped his mind away from the bond Mai shared with the charm in his hand.

_Oh god._

She'd...

John had...

He felt himself internally shut down before he could complete the thought. It wasn't the first time one of them had been possessed and it probably wouldn't be the last. For him, it was just another risk in an already dangerous job. The resulting nightmares were nothing new - he'd experienced disturbing, unwanted visions since he was a child. But Mai? Mai would both feel the betrayal more keenly and forgive more freely.

Naru steadied his breath, Lin was still waiting for an explanation.

"John is possessed."

If Lin had been the type to swear, Naru was certain he would have at that revelation. Instead the older man muttered flatly, "Of _course_ he is."

It was a sentiment Naru could get behind.

Of course Mai had refused to run and followed John anyway.

Of course she'd blindly put her faith in her friends. When had they ever let her down before?

Of course, of _fucking_ course, Naru's thoughts echoed in frustration. He only had himself to blame. Whatever doubts she may have had since they had first met, he'd systematically gone about destroying every one of them. He'd even confronted her about her tendency to lose faith in others after one of their more heated arguments.

She'd listened, apparently. Possibly too closely, if the memories he'd intruded on were any indication.

It was a good thing her trust wasn't misplaced.

He _would_ always find her.

"Did you get the maps?"

Lin handed them over without preamble. Clearing a space on Mai's desk, Naru spread the maps out in front of him. Provided John was possessed by Yamada as his glimpse of Mai's memories had implied, they should be looking for a place that held some kind of significance to the deceased high schooler.

Naru's mind hummed with possibilities.

From what they could glean from his teachers, the boy was good at making himself scarce during school hours, but hadn't made a habit of being late or skipping classes. He must have had a hiding spot. Something nearby. If it wasn't on the school grounds, it had to be within a short walking distance.

He grabbed a pen off the desk and marked locations of known incidents that could be attributed to Yamada and began calculating the maximum distance he might have travelled within the confines of Hokoru High's lunch break. It was still a lot of ground to cover, but it would help reduce SPR's search area considerably. Maeda's knowledge of the area should be able to help him concentrate their efforts even further.

 "Lin."As usual Naru need only glance towards the monitor displaying SPR's tag-along to communicate his request. A brief nod in return and Lin was out the door, while Naru returned to muse over the maps.

If Yamada had indeed left the school grounds, in life he would have required a sheltered exit to avoid being caught - some kind of back beaten path not often traversed by the general public. A lone, uniformed kid would stick out like a sore thumb if they left the school during the day.

If Yamada had no hidden route, it was possible that people in the area might be familiar with his comings and goings. Perhaps asking around would get them one step closer to finding Mai and John, but he couldn't afford to wait until morning to start asking questions. The longer it took to find his missing people, the more time there was for the situation to escalate.

He wasn't about to stand idly by and let that happen.

 

-x-

 

Mai groggily opened her eyes, only to discover it was a futile effort. Her environment was as much of a mystery to her with her eyes open as it was when they were closed. The darkness that enveloped her didn't seem to extend to her hands when she glanced down at them - that she could see herself despite any hint of a light source most likely meant she was dead or dreaming and Mai greatly preferred the latter. Crossing her fingers she squinted into the distance, waiting for any sign of her enigmatic guide.

Sure enough, Mai could make out the sound of footsteps moving towards her, drifting gently through the emptiness. Her heart fluttered instinctively and she stood to greet the familiar black-clad form, wreathed in soft light.

_Naru!_

Naru's dream counterpart smiled at her, but worry clouded the tenderness in his gaze. Mai bit her lip in concern. He didn't need to warn her this time - she was well aware of the trouble she was in. Stretching out a hand toward her, the dream beckoned for Mai to follow as she always did, gathering clues in the visions he sought to show her. She took it without question, blushing at the way her fingers tingled at the contact. His large hands dwarfed her own and she idly thought that if she really had died, she'd definitely gone straight to heaven.

_If only the real Naru would act a little more like this..._

Warm light and splashes of colour took form around Mai as she let herself be led towards a playground. Or a memory of a playground? Naru didn't always show her past events, so she would have to wait and see.

A young girl with wispy chestnut locks and her back to Mai, hummed to herself as she rocked idly back and forth on a swing. Around her, children of various ages chased each other gleefully up rope ladders, down firemen's poles and a well polished slide under their parent's supervision, scattered around the park in social clusters.

Was the girl the focus of this vision? Mai slipped from Naru's side as she moved to get a look at the brunette's face. She'd barely taken a step forward when movement caught at the edge of Mai's attention - a child set on a collision course, about to run in front of the girl's moving swing.

This had to be a memory – there was no way to explain how she knew that, but Mai could feel it in her bones. There was nothing she could do.

She reached out to warn the boy anyway.

"Mihari-kun!"

Mai paused, briefly knocked off balance. That hadn't been her voice.

A young woman passed though Mai's body and ran to pull the boy to safety. "Please be more careful, Mihari-kun!" She knelt down bringing herself to the same height, adding kindly, "Your Mother is dealing with a lot right now and she would be very upset if you were hurt."

Mai watched as the woman turned to face the girl on the swing - had she said "Mihari"?

_As in Yamada Mihari?!_

It couldn't be a coincidence. Naru had brought her here for a reason after all.

"How about we apologise to this lovely lady here, hmm?" The woman continued, nudging the young Yamada into action.

"I'm sorry for running out in front of you." He grimaced, avoiding the girl's gaze.

"That's okay. You didn't mean to, right?"

He nodded, tempting a glimpse at the smiling brunette. Now that Mai could see her face, she was struck by a sense of familiarity.

_Don't tell me that's..._

"Good boy." The woman smiled with all the warmth she could muster, "I'm going to go back and look after your Mum for you, okay? Go play." She gave his arms an affectionate squeeze and returned to his mother's side.

"...Are you okay?"

Yamada shrugged at the girl's question, avoiding her eyes again. It looked like he was trying not to cry.

 _Oh no_ , Mai realised. Yamada's previous teacher had said that his mother had died of an illness. Nobody had mentioned how long she had been sick, or what she had specifically died from - in this memory, had she only just been diagnosed? Or maybe waiting for test results?

_Kami-sama..._

"Is something wrong with your Mum?" The girl asked. She had ceased rocking back and forth, focused on the boy that immediately bristled at her curiosity.

"Nothing's wrong!"

Startled, she shrank back from his outburst. "S-sorry, I just thought..." Frowning mid apology, she stubbornly stated, "That lady said she would look after your Mum."

Yamada said nothing, but slumped down on the swing beside her. Undeterred by his silence, she returned to throwing her weight backwards in a haphazard attempt to regain momentum. Mai thought it was unbearably cute.

When the girl finally introduced herself, Mai grinned even harder. Haruka was pretty now, but as a child she was absolutely adorable.

_I knew it!_

This was not the first time she had run into Haruka in the visions Naru had shown her, but something told Mai that even if her friend remembered this encounter, she hadn't recognised Yamada when he had transferred to her school. Had they met more than once? Had they been childhood friends and not even realised it? Or maybe Yamada _had_ known, and that was part of the problem. He'd fixated on Haruka because he remembered her, scaring her with attention when she had no idea who he was or why he might respond to her in such a way.

She had so. Many. Questions.

To Mai's delight Haruka had started singing, making up the words as she went along in an effort to cheer up the troubled boy at her side. It was beginning to work. The tension in his small frame had slowly begun to ease, and soon Yamada was laughing at her antics, despite himself.

Full of mischief, Haruka's honeyed eyes danced as she leaned forward. "Want to see my secret hideout?"

Yamada lit up like a Christmas tree. Words like "secret" attached to ordinary objects like keys or doors had a unique ability to transform the mundane into the magical, Mai thought. Sure enough, Haruka's hideout was simply a garden shed, presumably used by the park's caretakers but to a child's imagination it could be anything from a dragon’s lair to a shining castle. She was unsure why Naru had found it necessary to show her such a thing but Mai was used to the mysterious nature of her dreams by now. She would do her best to piece together the puzzle he laid out for her.

Soon the scene bled into another and another - hospital bills filed carefully, wearily out of sight. Yamada clinging to his mother's bedside. Hands that sought to comfort falling short and parting empty. Pained smiles, stolen glances, lips bitten to maintain their silence.

"I'm worried about you."

Words whispered gently, out of sight. Mai's consciousness paused at the confession, following it to its source - the young woman who had held Yamada back from the path of the swing - her hands were clenched behind her back, as if to stop herself from reaching out to the family's father.

_Oh._

Mai's attention spun towards Yamada's father. His gaze, once averted, now looked at his wife's friend with quiet longing.

_OH._

"Spare some worry for yourself." He replied, voice rough with emotion. "You don't have to..." Yamada's father trailed off, unsure and breathless. "You shouldn't have to suffer, too."

They were in love. Had this unspoken tension always existed between them, or had it developed quietly over time, while the young woman cared diligently for her best friend and her family?

Did her friend know? Did the young _Yamada_ know? How might he have seen their feelings for each other, through a lens of grief? Unbidden, tears began streaming down Mai's face. It was too sad.

Naru reached out to comfort and ground her, reminding Mai that while she had a job to do, she was not alone. The visions he led her to were out of necessity, to help her understand and prevent future loss.

Once he had her attention, Naru pointed towards the doorway and a detail Mai had missed - Yamada, just out of sight. Confusion, fear and betrayal warred for purchase on the boy's face as he hid from the moment he had just witnessed, confirming Mai's suspicions. Yamada definitely knew.

He'd known and anger had taken hold of his heart.

"Be careful…" Naru whispered.

 

-x-

 

He had been watching Mai for some time now. The way her chest rose and fell as she slept. The motion caused her hair to settle across her face, stray auburn strands glinting in the moonlight that shone through his hideout's broken window.

Yamada's back ached from leaning against the cold, rigid wall but Mai looked so peaceful - how could he bring himself to disturb her? There were many things he would have to explain to her when she woke and very few of them were pleasant. Let her believe in her “friends” a little longer. His mother had believed in hers up until the end, for all the good that had done. The memory made him sick to his stomach. How could she smile in the face of what they did to her!

_"Their happiness and yours is all I have to live for"?_

_What a joke._

_What a sick and twisted_ joke _._

His father had buried her and her closest friend had taken his mother’s place. Robbed her of her life. Murdered her memory.

And his father had let her.

Mai was so much like his mother. So understanding. _Too_ understanding. So kind that she might find it in her to forgive her greatest betrayers - those who would try to take her from him, rotting her away from the inside.

Those who stood by and did nothing to save her.

He couldn't allow that to happen. Not again.

With a heavy heart, the ghost checked the tightness of the makeshift restraints he'd fashioned from the priest's clothing. Soon they would not be needed, but he could not risk releasing Mai until she was aware of the danger she faced. If this was what he had to do in order to save her from herself, then so be it.

 

-x-

 

If Naru stared any harder at that map, Lin was legitimately concerned that his charge would burn a hole in it. He followed the ghost hunter’s steel gaze towards the location that appeared to have incurred such wrath.

“Heiwa Park?”

Something about that name seemed unsettlingly familiar. Maeda perked up from where she sat, slumped over several discarded maps and a floor plan for her school. She was clearly tired, but determined to provide them with as much information as possible. The high schooler had spent a great deal of time in the park’s playground as a child, but was unsure how much had changed in the last few years. Even if Yamada had hidden Mai there, she highly doubted it would be any of the locations that had called to her when she was half her size.

“There is something you should know, though? I think everyone forgot about it, because of _everything_ ,” Maeda gestured around the room and SPR’s overwhelming presence in it, “and it happened before Yamada-kun died, but -” She cut off, aware of Naru’s aversion to rambling and took a moment to centre herself.

Whether what she had to say proved relevant or not, Maeda now had both his and Naru’s full attention.

“There used to be rumours about the park being haunted. People told stories about unexpected noises and feeling like people were watching them, even if they were sure they were alone – that sort of thing.” She explained, “A bunch of parents in the area kicked up a fuss about it and got the police involved, but as far as I know, nothing ever came of it. It’s probably still unresolved, people just found different things to worry about.”

Things like apparitions walking down hallways and traumatising bus drivers and their passengers. Lin could see how the previous issue might be seen as “a walk in the park” in comparison.

After Maeda's input Lin was beginning to suspect why he'd felt a connection to the park's name. He looked to Naru for confirmation. "We received a request involving a haunted playground some time ago. You don’t think -”

“...That it could be _here_?” Naru abruptly finished, phone in hand and already heading for the door.

_Ah._

The boy had never dealt well with self-perceived inadequacy. 

From memory, there was nothing to indicate that the disturbances might be anything more than childish pranks - it was not the first case SPR had recommended be dealt with by local law enforcement and it wouldn't be the last. Not every "bump in the night" was supernatural in origin after all. According to what Maeda had mentioned about the timing of the rumours, Lin was inclined to believe that the only potential oversight here was failing to connect the two incidents sooner. Naru might hold himself to an impossible standard, but even he had to concede that seeing the future was not a skill he possessed.

There was still a chance that the instances were unrelated, but the park seemed to fit the desired profile. If Yamada had managed to keep out of sight, it wasn't unreasonable to think that he could've been the cause of Heiwa's troubles long before he'd died. The connection was entirely too convenient to be ignored.

Lin spared a sympathetic glance at Maeda as they abandoned the base, hurrying to keep up with Naru’s focused stride. Phone already out and held up to his ear, the young ghost hunter barked clipped instructions (probably to the monk) for the rest of SPR’s members to follow. Slowed down somewhat by the conversation, Lin managed to catch Naru’s reply to what sounded suspiciously like Takigawa wishing them good luck.

“We won't need it.”

 

-x-

 

Takigawa didn’t have to see the smirk on Naru’s face to hear it in his voice.

_Good._

Brisk, clipped instructions from anyone else might not be seen as a positive sign under ordinary circumstances, but their boss was about as far it was possible to get from “ordinary”.

Naru was acting like himself again, not some worried, pent-up mess. (The monk promised himself that he’d enjoy telling Mai all about _that_ when she was safe and sound.) It could only mean one thing.

They had a lead.

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

" _Naru!_ " Lin yelled, warning him before he ran into a wall. Sucking in a harsh breath, Naru ripped his mind away from the image displayed on the phone in his hand.

_Oh god._

She'd...

Mai hadn’t been kidding when she’d threatened to post it online.

 

                       **@idiot_scientist** don’t say I didn’t warn you.

                       **#bossshaming #fearme**

 

Attached was a photo of himself in a hospital bed, glaring sullenly at the camera while holding a hand-written sign that read, “I STUPIDLY ~~USED MY POWERS~~ BROKE MY PROMISES AND LOOK WHERE THAT GOT ME”.


	10. Saving Taniyama Mai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains some non-consensual acts to a bound person. This is the only chapter that contains anything non-con, I've added specific tags solely for this chapter. If you would like to skip this chapter but would like a sum up of the important points or something similar, let me know in the comments!
> 
> Many thanks again to ArtzGromet for trying to teach me how to use commas correctly!

 

A dull ache permeated Mai's skull as she re-entered the waking world, her first instinct to clutch at her forehead met with a jolt and dizzying pain. An involuntary gasp fought to get past a muffling obstruction and she nearly sobbed in terror.

Kami, there was something in her _mouth_.

Her skin felt uncomfortably tight, unidentified grime smeared across her face and along exposed limbs. Tears streaked gritty tracks down her cheeks and Mai hoped that for once in her life the unsettling substance was merely dust or dirt and not something decidedly more macabre.

Her arms still sung with the strain of her earlier attempt at movement and she carefully flexed her fingers, testing her restrictions and staving off the numbness in her limbs.

Why couldn't she move?

Where had Yamada taken her?

Mai tried to get a better sense of her situation. It was dark, but she could make out the cloth tied haphazardly around her ankles. Presumably, it was the same material that clogged her mouth and kept her wrists stretched uncomfortably behind her back.

The cold ground she lay on looked to be soil (which boded well for the unknown substance on her face), and moonlight softly filtered into the room via one slatted window and gaps around what might be an ill-fitted door. Between her and freedom sat a nightmare with piercing blue eyes. They quietly observed her with a focus that froze the breath in Mai's lungs.

Until this moment Mai would've sworn that John couldn't have looked threatening if he tried, unfortunately the same could not be said of the person before her now. Honest, open baby blues were now coloured with a fusion of hate and longing, once smooth golden locks mussed and feral in the dark, her friend's ever sincere smile contorted into something inherently wrong and disturbing. His clothing was torn and she realised with a start that the ghost had ripped strips from the priest's robes to bind her. Regret tore at her throat at her failure to prevent the situation from escalating. She'd gotten lost trying to guide John back to the base. She'd sensed something off long before that and hadn't even _warned_ him.

_This is my fault, isn't it!_

Blinking back tears, Mai resolved to fix this somehow.

She'd get John back to normal.

She _had_ to.

Mai had no idea how she was going to manage that with a gag silencing her but one problem at a time.

_Think, Mai._

She had to negotiate with a ghost - a medium's job. Masako's specialty. Mai might not always appreciate her co-worker's high and mighty attitude, but Masako had earned her respect in the way she treated spirits. A soul was a soul and being earthbound didn't make the dead any less human to the doll-like medium.

_What would Masako do?_

Without a doubt, her rival would try to encourage Yamada to move on.

 _But what might help him_ do _that, exactly?_

Mai ran through what she knew about the boy in her head.

Ayako had said he was jealous, taking out his anger on those who may have looked down on him in life. She'd pointed out that he may have had problems at home. The miko hadn't been wrong, though the cause of the ghost's issues had certainly thrown Mai for a loop.

_I hate you._

_It's all your fault._

_Murderer!_

SPR's incident reports involving the mother’s encounters held an entirely new meaning to Mai now. At the time she had found their statements particularly troubling in contrast to the student's accounts. If not for the apparition's description, Mai would have thought the incidents were from entirely separate causes. Maybe some of them were. Mai couldn't be sure that a few of the witness testimonies SPR had gathered weren't actually misguided pranks played by other students, before things had gotten out of hand. At this point if anyone was responsible they were most likely too afraid to come forward.

The accusations of murder still concerned her. Yamada's death had clearly been an accident but after the visions Dream-Naru had lead her to, Mai was beginning to suspect it made perfect sense.

 _His mother hadn't_ actually _been murdered, had she?_

_No._

Something deep in her gut protested the idea. The people she had seen in her visions loved Yamada's mother very much. Mai was sure of that. They would have buried their feelings for each other rather than lose someone so close to their hearts.

She needed more information and maybe, just maybe, Yamada needed someone to talk to. Mai could do this. She just needed to convince him to confide in her and then all she had to do was listen. Not only would it give her a better idea of how to help him, it would also buy her precious time - time Naru and the others could use to find them.

Calming herself, Mai met Yamada's gaze with quiet acceptance.

_I won't scream. I'm not a threat._

_Just let me talk to you._

She willed her thoughts to show on her face and prayed the ghost possessing her friend took the hint.

Swallowing nervously, he leant forward. "I know you must be angry with me, but I had no choice."

She tried to soften her expression in answer. It must have been enough, because Yamada hurried to remove the cloth from her mouth. Mai took a moment to work the discomfort out of her jaw before taking the next step to encourage his trust.

"I'm not angry with you."

"You're not?"

Eyebrows raised in surprise, he looked more like the kind, lonely ghost she had met in the hallway at the beginning of all this. Mai could almost pretend it really was John she was talking to right now, if only for a moment. She reminded herself to tread carefully - there was no telling when Yamada's temperament may change. "You were doing what you thought was best for me, right?"

"I needed to keep you safe." He replied, as if that explained everything.

"Can you tell me why, Yamada-kun? I'm not angry," she reassured, "but I would like to understand."

He looked blankly at her but didn't seem to take offense to the question, so Mai nudged a little further. "I'll be more careful if I know what's going on." She implored.

The ghost seemed to accept her reasoning.

"Your friends..." He tentatively began, "...they're dangerous. They'll hurt you - I can't let that happen again."

"Again?" Mai perked up, latching onto the allusion. She grabbed the thread of hope she had been given and pulled hard, waiting for it to unravel.

She could work with this.

"My mother," Yamada breathed. He stared past her, lost in memory, "She was hurt."

His jaw clenched and Mai hurried to guide the conversation when his expression darkened.

"By her friends?" She prompted softly.

"By the people closest to her." He corrected, eyes flashing dangerously. "My father. Her best friend. She trusted them and they betrayed her." The spirit spat out bitterly.

"They let her die and she lay there wishing them _happiness_." John's face contorted with Yamada's disgust, as if the words left a bad taste in his stolen mouth. The compassionate teammate she knew would never have made such a face. It was painful to watch.

_Focus, Mai._

What had she learned? How could she use that information to save John?

It was clear to her now - his mother had known about the love that had quietly bloomed between her husband and closest friend. From the sounds of it, she may have genuinely supported their relationship and tried to explain the matter to her very confused, grief-ridden son. Clearly the conversation had not gone well.

"You think I'm like your mother? That I'll be betrayed?"

He nodded.

Mai took a deep breath. She was playing with fire right now, wasn't she? One wrong move and she'd get burned, and badly. Worst of all, it wasn't just her own safety at stake, here.

"Your mother, to have wanted them to be happy..." Mai broached cautiously, "She must have loved them very much."

Yamada tensed but didn't show any further signs of displeasure. She took a gamble and kept going.

"Sometimes it's not always easy to see why the people we care for make the choices they do. You were worried that I would misunderstand your actions, weren't you?" She pushed, attempting to give the ghost something to relate to.

"But I'm listening and you're explaining it to me now." She kept her voice calm and endeavoured to look as submissive and innocent as possible.

He nodded again, slower this time. Thinking.

"Tell me about your mother," she steered, echoing his own words back at him, "why would she want people who “let her die” to be happy?"

"She couldn't accept reality. Couldn't see their betrayal for what it was." He insisted. "Love blinded her to the truth."

"And what _is_ the truth, Yamada-kun?" Mai pressed gently. "Your father and her friend loved your mother very much, didn't they?"

He said nothing. Yamada remained unmoved, cold and silent like a shadow. Mai tried again. There was little else she could do right now but keep trying to get through to him.

"Do you really think they murdered her?"

Still nothing. She needed to come at this from another angle.

"What makes you think my friends are dangerous - that they'll betray me?" Mai demanded. Anything to get him talking would be useful at this point.

In the darkness, John's lips softly uttered a broken reply. It took her a moment to even be sure she'd heard the small, trembling confession.

"He'll take you away."

"Take..." Mai repeated, her breath catching in her throat. "Take me away?"

Had she heard correctly? Could there be a second ghost (or something else in the realm of the eerie and extraordinary) that SPR had yet to unearth? And that made her friends a threat... _how_ exactly?

Mai felt like she was missing something here.

"Who will?" She blurted out, drawing a blank. (Was it possible for someone to be so surprised that they momentarily forgot to be afraid? Because if so, Mai could definitely relate.)

" ** _Naru_**."

Everything in Mai ground to a halt.

The pure venom in Yamada's tone was unmistakable. The blood that had frozen in the face of the spirit’s sudden fury now pounded loudly in her ears. Mai wondered if Yamada could hear it from where he hovered, watching her. If only he wasn’t using her friend’s face. She couldn’t keep the tremor out of her voice when she spoke.

"Maybe he's just trying to protect me, too."

"Protect you..." Yamada echoed breathily, John's brow pinched in confusion.

_Shit._

That had been the wrong thing to say. Why hadn't she faked being unconscious for longer or changed the subject or _pretty much anything else_ but defend Naru to a unstable ghost that was convinced he was going to "betray" her?

This was a lot harder than Masako made it look and Mai was terrified. She tried not to let her fear show but was too late. Yamada had seen.

Pale blue eyes narrowed at her in the dark. Clearly he'd come to a conclusion about what Mai had insinuated she truly needed protection from.

"...from _me_."

 

-x-

 

Haruka stuck close to Lin as he followed SPR’s leader into the night. Despite her worry, one thought struck the curious teenager with blinding clarity as she struggled to keep up with the ghost hunter’s lengthy strides.

How on earth did Mai think her feelings one-sided when the man in front of them would clearly stop at nothing to find her? She assessed Naru’s rapidly disappearing form sceptically. He looked like he was about to tear the park apart. Maybe he was usually better at hiding it?

_Well, from Mai at least._

Haruka was convinced his recklessness where she was concerned was blatantly obvious to everyone else. Matsuzaki certainly had “opinions” on the subject and the monk _definitely_ did. She’d seen the looks he’d been throwing between their boss and his surrogate baby sister – nobody looked _that_ suspicious of someone without precedent.

Lin simply looked resigned to his fate.

At first glance, Heiwa Park didn't appear to have changed much over the years. A few extra features and a new slide decorated the grounds, but Haruka could still make out some of her favourite pastimes in the dark.

Falling behind, the high schooler found herself beckoned by a strong sense of nostalgia. Woodchips crunched under her feet as she lingered by an old swing clearly meant for a much smaller person. She could still fit on the seat if she manoeuvred her hips so they sat behind the solid, coat hanger-like supports binding the base to the swing's chains. It was a little uncomfortable, but Haruka didn't mind.

The links of metal felt cool under her finger tips and the brunette took a moment to recall a time when she had felt free of the crushing weight of expectation. Giggling friends, falling into piles of leaves in Autumn - a little boy with a sick mother and a garden shed that inspired worlds in the eyes of her younger self. Now the future was full of pages she had yet to write and uncertainty snapped at her heels when she tried to picture what it might hold.

She'd always wondered what had happened to that boy. Did his mother ever get better? She recalled seeing him in the playground a few times but eventually one of those meetings had been their last and she'd had no way to contact him.

Haruka looked around for the garden shed that had at one point been a castle, a dragons den, an unscalable cliff face and a runaway train, to name a few - she hadn't been short on imagination as a child. The small metal building was still there, though possibly in disuse. It was almost certainly locked but did locks even matter to ghosts?

SPR was searching for a place Yamada could have used as a sanctuary before his death and a bolted door might make the shed a less likely candidate. She supposed her classmate could've known how to pick locks, but a pair of bolt cutters and a new padlock seemed like an easier solution. The shed would look undisturbed at a glance and the intrusion could safely go unnoticed for some time.

Haruka tried to recall any other hideaways she and her friends had used as children. Aside from the shed, could any of the still standing structures fit two people? Mai and John weren't exactly tall but they were considerably larger than Haruka had been the last time she tried to squish herself into an oversize plastic pipe during a game of hide and seek.

She never got the chance to share her thoughts. When Haruka had turned to find the two men in black, it was just in time to witness the unobtrusive shed's door nearly torn off its hinges.

Her earlier impression of Naru’s state of mind hadn’t been wrong, apparently.

 

-x-

 

Everyone always left him behind.

His mother had died and left him alone with traitors.

His father had moved on and eventually abandoned him along with his mother's replacement. Hospital bills bled them dry and at some point Yamada's father began to spend so much time at work that the boy doubted he even remembered the way home anymore.

Something about Haruka had struck him as different but in the end she had pushed him away, too.

Why were people always being taken from him? Couldn't someone just _stay_? Did the universe really hate him that much?

He curled in on himself, rage clawing at the edges of his disconnected consciousness.

_Make it stop!_

His mother loved him, _Mai_ loved him! Why had she defended Naru? He couldn't be trusted! He would take her away! Didn't she realise that?!

Why didn't she believe him, she was supposed to be _different_!!!

"You don't understand." Yamada felt the blonde's mouth shape the words, shock humming through him as he began to realise their truth. She really didn't, did she.

_But -_

He felt cold, displaced.

It didn’t make any sense! Mai really _wasn’t_ like the others!

...Except Mai wasn't saying anything.

"...But you love me." He protested, weakly. They were bound together, the spirit was sure of it. He felt himself resonate with her in a way he couldn't explain. A connection like this didn't only go one way. She was _his_.

Mai hesitated. "I care for you, Yamada-kun."

The words were sincere but chosen carefully. It was already happening - she was being taken from him, just like everything else good and pure he'd ever known.

 _It was that intruder's fault_ , Yamada's mind screamed. _His fault, his fault! All that murderer’s fault!_

"I'm sorry,” Mai implored.

_No._

_He didn’t want to hear it._

He couldn’t listen to her denial. He couldn’t watch her face fall, stained with regret and pain on his behalf. He couldn’t endure her _pity_.

“...but I -"

His love hadn't been enough. He couldn’t protect her.

He was going to be abandoned again. He was going to be alone again, Yamada’s fears taunted, just out of reach.

His jaw clenched.

Borrowed hands grabbed Mai’s throat in a desperate attempt to prevent her next words.

_Just stop!_

" ** _Stop_**!”

Her skin bloomed darkly under his touch. She could no longer look at him in pity – with her face contorted in pain, she could barely look at him at all.

“Don’t say that!” He raged, “It’s not true – it _can’t_ be true!”

He was so close now. Yamada could feel Mai’s struggle for breath in punctuated gasps, hot as flames on his chilled skin.

“You're not like the others! You're _not!_ " He insisted wildly.

She had just forgotten!

She had forgotten and he just had to remind her.

Softening, he eased his grip on her throat, drawing a thumb gently across her lips to clean off the traces of dirt. Mai shuddered at his touch and he reminded himself that this was not her fault. How could it be her fault when she was so perfect? He already knew who to blame.

He already knew the truth.

Mai writhed in his grip, but he smiled calmly down at her as he closed the distance between them. Her lips tasted of tears and she sobbed into his mouth as he reassured her.

“You love me...” He breathed reverently.

During the kiss, something in the air crackled and shifted sideways. Yamada absently wondered if this was what kissing someone like Mai was like - if this tingling contact was what he had been missing out on all this time. The scrape of a metal bolt shifting hadn’t even registered in his mind. Why should it? He was kissing _Mai_.

Nothing else mattered.

Not the dark silhouette of a threat wreathed in moonlight or the sound of shattering glass. Only the violent reverb of their hideaway's tin door wrenched from its hinges drew the spirit’s attention away from Mai.

From the open doorway, a voice colder than ice condemned him.

"If you believed that, you wouldn't have felt the need to restrain her."

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

Haruka tried to recall if she’d ever seen SPR’s members truly unnerved before. Aside from that incident with the phone breathing static whenever it came into contact with Naru, had anything else even ruffled the group’s feathers? But two of their members had gone missing and Haruka had been given front row seats to how SPR responded to a crisis.

Mai and John weren't exactly helpless but it had previously occurred to Haruka that her newest friend might be somewhat prone to finding herself in sticky situations.

Her earlier impression of Mai’s penchant for trouble hadn’t been wrong, apparently.

Matsuzaki held up a protective charm in front of her dishevelled friend.

“Hmmmm....” She made a show of considering, tapping at her painted lips with a perfectly manicured finger. Hovering around Mai, she changed the angle of the charm and squinted, as if preparing to take a photo.

“Hmmmmmmmm....” The red-head mused again; more pronounced the second time around. Her tone held an underlying lilt of sarcasm that was impossible to miss. Haruka vaguely wondered if she should have brought popcorn.

“What?” Mai snapped, clearly unnerved by her co-worker's scrutiny.

The miko leaned back to look Mai dead in the eye.

Haruka bit her lip but it was hard to disguise the temptation to laugh at her friend’s affronted pout. The high schooler slyly wondered how often "Mr. Tall, dark and bad-at-emotions" teased Mai for the sole purpose of being responsible for it.

Yes, Haruka decided, this situation truly _did_ require popcorn. Perhaps she could do something about the sudden craving, now that all of SPR’s members were well and accounted for.

Indicating to the protective ward in her hand, Matsuzaki cocked her hip haughtily to one side and gave a thin smile.

“I’m just trying to figure out where to tattoo this on you.”

 


	11. Somebody That I Used to Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: while the non-con elements are in the previous chapter, they are referred to in this chapter. (For example, the other character's reactions to her injuries and what they have witnessed.)
> 
> Many thanks to ArtzGromet for attempting to teach me how to use commas.  
> I'm learning, I swear!

Naru was livid.

He hadn't been this angry in quite some time - not even when he'd been taken over by a washed-up god and almost died to prove a point. That had involved Mai as well, he idly recalled. No wonder Lin started twitching whenever it looked like Naru was about to engage the part-timer in a battle of wills. Mai didn't seem particularly competitive, but he couldn't deny that there was something about their relationship that seemed to constantly endeavour to spur the other on. He would light a fire underneath her and she could be counted on to return the favour by dousing him with fuel.

It sometimes felt as if every waking moment was devoted to maintaining a monotonous state of control and part of him revelled in the way she tore him apart so effortlessly. If she wanted him to burn with her, was that really such a bad way to go?

 _Only with Mai_ , Naru decided and not like _this_.

If he ever succumbed to the flames licking up around him, it would be because _she_ was holding the match - not some prat who robbed her of choice.

Naru had approached the shed because it was a logical place to look. It was large enough to fit two people and a vague memory of his meeting with Heiwa Park's potential client led him to believe the tin structure was a possible origin for some of the reported noise complaints. It wasn’t the only place he’d thought worth investigating and Lin had begrudgingly left his side in order to cover more ground.

As Naru drew closer, the sound of muffled voices caused him to pick up his pace. They were in a public space and there was no guarantee that Mai and John awaited him within the shed’s walls, but hope imbued his stride all the same.

“...not like the others! You’re _not_!”

_Shit._

Not only did he recognise the raised voice but the obsessive phrase – it wasn’t a coincidence. Without a second thought, Naru tore open the door.

Nothing could have prepared him for what lay beyond it.

He felt his heart seize in his chest. The sensation was familiar and confusion briefly followed when Naru found himself still standing. Usually this was the part where he fell like a stone and woke up in a hospital bed, but he had hardly over taxed himself.

 _...Yet_ , his mind added perversely.

The sight of John kissing a bound and struggling Mai scattered his so-called “control” to the wind. Glass splintered. He was vaguely aware of the sound of metal shearing and strongly suspected he had decimated the door unlucky enough to be held in his hand. His skin still thrummed with power and Naru focused on breathing through the static in the air.

 _Not John_ , he corrected himself, willing the charge in his fingertips to dissipate.

_...Yamada-san._

Naru felt a twinge of regret that he had to go easy on the brat for fear of injuring a friend. There were very few people he viewed as such, considering his fame in certain circles and the nature of his personality. He wasn't about to hurt one of them just because their job came with some unique occupational hazards.

Besides, just because he couldn't beat the young imp to a pulp didn't mean that he couldn't inflict any _damage_. Not all wounds were physical, Naru thought darkly. Mai often informed him of the bite of his tongue and his mother had always taught him to not let one's natural talents go to waste.

"If you believed that, you wouldn't have felt the need to restrain her."

 _That_ got the kid's attention.

Yamada had released Mai's mouth before sinking ever further into his own delusion, but Naru's taunt etched a frown into the face that still looked irritably close to cloud nine.

His desire to wipe the euphoria from the ghost's features was immeasurable. To his surprise, Mai performed the honour for him. A feeling Naru had no idea how to name sparked and spread beneath his sternum and all she had done was call out his name.

" _Naru_!"

Tear stained and overcome with relief at the sight of him, Mai sent him a lop-sided smile. Even in this state - dishevelled and smudged with dirt, her grateful expression was blinding. Naru felt his lips curve. No matter where she went, Mai could be counted on to have a strong affect on others. The dead were no exception.

His eyes slid towards Yamada with a knowing smirk.

_Dream on, kid._

He didn't know what kind of person might capture the attention of someone like Mai, but it sure as hell wasn't going to be some tantrum-throwing child who didn't know how to take "no" for an answer.

Anger simmered under his skin, but Naru felt an odd sort of calm fall over him. His people were in one piece. Yamada was _nothing_ compared to the things he and his team had faced - this stupid ghost didn't know who it was fucking with. If Mai didn't have such a strong moral compass, she could have exorcised the spirit herself. The method she knew would have injured the host, after learning that lesson the hard way it wasn't a choice Naru could see her making twice.

Yamada was growing impatient.

"... _You!_ "

Naru spared a glance at the enraged boy, taking a moment to contemplate why Yamada appeared so incensed by _his_ presence specifically. His earlier interruption in Mai's home shouldn't warrant a violent reaction this personal, but Naru knew better than to rule it out.

"You can't have her!" Yamada spat, puffing himself up in John's body.

This time Naru didn't bother to acknowledge him. He wasn't about to get into a pissing contest with an unstable spirit.

"Mai." He commanded simply.

_Status report._

Mai blinked up at him in momentary confusion. He suppressed his satisfaction at being able to tell the exact moment she grasped his meaning. If she hadn't been so relieved to see him, Mai would have shot him the dirtiest look she could manage. Under the circumstances, her shoulders simply sagged slightly as she let out a ~~cute~~ tiny huff of frustration.

"Uh, aside from..." Mai pulled a face and tilted her head towards the possessed John, "We're okay."

He shot Mai a look that implied her definition of "okay" may not necessarily align with his and informed her that Matsuzaki was on standby with medical supplies.

Naru had lost interest in baiting Yamada when it became apparent that ignoring him would be equally effective and doing so in favour of Mai was hardly a difficulty. In his peripheral vision, John's shoulders began to shake. Whatever was left of the possessing spirit's sanity was unravelling at the seams.

"Stop..." Yamada whimpered, lashing out violently. "Stop talking like I'm not even _here_!"

John's body lunged towards him, swinging wildly.

Naru was prepared.

He dodged effortlessly, as if the motion were an afterthought. Using Yamada's force against him, Naru threw the over enthusiastic male into the side of the shed and swiftly pined his face to the wall, using one of his thrashing arms as leverage.

In a matter of seconds Lin would arrive to assist with the possessed priest, free Mai and get SPR’s previously missing member’s medical attention. Then they would all get some sorely needed sleep.

It was a good plan and Naru liked it.

Very few of his expectations were met.

 

-x-

 

Haruka raced towards the warped, reverberating door. Sounds of a scuffle inside deterred her from entering immediately but once she made out Mai's face in the darkness, there was no holding back. Haruka lunged towards her friend without a second thought.

If only she had waited until her eyes had fully adjusted to the light.

If only Mai's boss owned clothes in something other than black.

Haruka collided with something warm and solid, Naru's shoulder, disrupting his hold on John. Looking at the priest now, she couldn't reconcile this feral creature with the kind stranger she had run into earlier that week.

_So this is what a possessed person looks like._

Lin had warned her but seeing it for herself was something else entirely. Yamada struggled with Naru in an almost berserker-like fashion, unskilled and driven by a level of desperation that cared little for his host body's natural limits. Even for her unsettling classmate, his demeanour was wild. Hysterical, even.

A flailing arm struck out, too close for comfort. It shook Haruka from her stunned daze and she pulled away from the fight. During a moment where Naru had secured the upper-hand he made eye contact with her and looked pointedly at Mai.

 _"Help Mai."_ _Right._

Haruka nodded. Naru shifted his attention back to Yamada. He'd managed to shake Naru off during his distraction but the advantage didn't last long.

Haruka hurried to untie Mai, starting with her wrists. The sooner Mai's hands were free, the quicker the two of them could work together to free her ankles.

"Haruka-san!" Mai hissed, "Do you remember meeting a boy in a park?"

It had been on the tip of her tongue to shakily joke that she'd met a lot of people in parks, and that didn't really narrow it down, but Mai seemed determined to throw snippets of information at her until something stuck.

"You were on a swing. He ran in front of you -"

Haruka's hands slipped on the knots she fought to loosen.

_What?_

"His mother was sick. You showed him a secret hideout -" Mai kept going. Pale with dawning comprehension, Haruka stared at Yamada in shock.

It couldn't be, could it?

This had been her secret hideout. _Their_ secret hideout. Mai hadn't just referred to any old park, she'd asked about _this_ one - Heiwa. Haruka had only just been sitting on that same swing, reminiscing and wondering what had become of her childhood friend. About what might have happened to his mother.

What was that boy's name?

_Think, Haruka!_

She tried to picture his face, pulled at every memory -

_Mm-something._

_“Meiji”? “Masaki”, maybe?_

_No..._

_”Mihari”._

His name had been Mihari, but she didn’t call him that.

"...Mi-kun?"

Instantly, Yamada faltered. Even looking through another's eyes, she could see that scared, confused little boy on a swing staring back at her.

_Yamada Mihari._

It couldn't be, but it _was_.

"Did you know...?"

_Did you know it was me?_

Was that why he claimed to know her, that he loved her? It would explain a lot, if he had. All those awkward, looming looks – the knowledge didn’t suddenly make his behaviour okay, but at least it made more _sense_. He had known her, once upon a time.

Whatever the truth might be, Yamada kept it from her. He refused to acknowledge her and studiously avoided her gaze.

She'd definitely hit a nerve.

Haruka stood up a little straighter, set her shoulders back a little further, lifted her jaw a little higher. She wasn’t above fighting dirty.

She placed a finger on the weak point Mai had helped her uncover and _pressed_.

“Mi-kun, I’m so sorry! I didn’t recognise you...” Voice softening and shoulders wilting, Haruka channelled her horror and misplaced guilt into tears of regret. It wasn’t hard to cry under these circumstances. It had been a long night, she had been scared for a long time and up until she’d caught Yamada’s attention, Haruka had been trying to untie Mai.

It was a small wonder the intense scene hadn’t left her a weeping mess already.

 “...We wasted so much time.”

Haruka sniffled and smiled disarmingly.

“It’s ok, Mi-kun. These people can help you -” She soothed, thinking quickly about what might persuade him and adding, “they aren’t like the others.”

Yamada paused, and for a brief, blissful second Haruka thought she had managed to get through to him.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Yamada turned to glare at her in disgust, as if she understood nothing and had no right to make such a claim.

" _Liar_."

He broke away from Naru and tore her from Mai’s side. Haruka winced as her wrist jarred painfully, yanked up in front of her face as if it were evidence of her crimes. He’d seen her trying to free Mai, she realised.

When Yamada spoke, his voice was colder than ice. "You've betrayed me too."

Without warning, he threw her aside.

 

-x-

 

It was an accident. Pure reflex. He hadn't made a conscious decision to strike, but the sight of the kindest person he knew throwing Maeda down like a rag doll made something inside Naru snap. John could _never_ treat someone that way. Ever.

He grabbed John's shoulder with one hand and spun the possessed priest back towards him. Without missing a beat, Naru punched him solidly in the face.

Stunned by the impact, he stared down at his clenched, throbbing fist.

_...Uh._

Shit, he'd been trying to hold back.

Naru grimaced at the gasp he elicited from Mai. _I know,_ Naru berated himself. He'd just punished John for Yamada's actions. He wasn't proud of it, but he could hate himself for the mistaken impulse later.

Knocked to the ground, John’s face contorted with rage. Naru scowled at the unnatural expression, finding the combination of the man he knew and the boy’s anger nothing short of horrific. Mistaking his opponent’s displeasure for distraction, Yamada took the opportunity to strike and tried to kick Naru's legs out from under him.

The manoeuvre failed to connect.

Naru raised an eyebrow at the telegraphed attack. Not all taunts required verbalising and this one, radiated smug dismissal.

Yamada growled through clenched teeth.

Naru lunged.

Ever the optimist, Mai tried to reason with the unhinged spirit and pleaded with Yamada to stop. Naru admired her tenacity but doubted the boy could even hear her over the sound of his own delirium at this point.

One of Naru’s hands found purchase.

Yamada’s frantic scrabble paused.

Once again, Naru moved to subdue Yamada, only to be blinded by a fist full of soil. Guarding his face, Naru tried to clear away the dirt but the obstruction cost him dearly.

Yamada wrenched free.

In the seconds it took Naru to blink back his blurred vision, the boy reclaimed his hold on Mai. In Yamada’s hand was a shard of broken glass. Blood beaded and dripped from the priest’s fingertips as he gripped the makeshift blade, careless of the body he'd stolen.

 _The shattered window_ , Naru realised. He'd given the idiot a weapon.

Naru focused on the problem at hand and tried not to let self disgust overwhelm him, a task made significantly harder when Yamada pressed the fragment’s jagged tip to Mai's throat.

Using PK to disarm him posed too big a risk to John and Mai. His psychokinesis couldn't be trusted to do anything by halves without Gene to help stabilize his power output. It was highly likely that all three of them would wind up hospitalised if he tried to solve the problem that way.

"I'll stop him," Yamada promised Mai. He had the nerve to sound almost reverent, as if this was some pure act of love - as if she were willing and could possibly find anything about this situation "romantic". Naru wanted to be sick.

"I’ll make it so he can never separate us again."

 _Like_ hell _you will._

Out of time and options, Naru seized the bloodied hand set on plunging the broken shard into Mai’s heart. Yamada writhed angrily, the glass cutting into John’s fingers as he fought Naru’s tightening grip.

Making eye contact, Naru made one sentiment perfectly clear:

_Over my cold. Dead. Body._

Yamada flared at the warning, doubling his efforts.

Naru held fast, an immovable force.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of Mai yelling his name and Maeda’s hysterical screams. Their voices seemed much further away than he knew them to be, and Naru hoped it was due to adrenalin and not his body trying to shut down. He’d collapsed from less but now was really _not the time_.

In the midst of the chaos a sharp, familiar whistle pierced the air.

_Lin._

Trust his guardian to turn up at both the best _and_ worst possible moment. Yes, he could admit that his assistance would be useful. No, he did not want the depreciating monologue that would inevitably follow.

_“You were reckless.”_

_“If you can’t control yourself, you’ll die.”_

_“Don’t make me tell your parents that I failed to keep you alive. They’ve already lost one son - they shouldn’t have to outlive another.”_

_“She cried, you know.”_

He _knew_.

No one knew that better than he did. Naru didn’t have to like being reminded.

Lin’s shiki dislodged the weaponized glass from Yamada’s grasp with ease, and Naru smothered an unexpected flare of irritation. It was completely irrational to be annoyed by his assistant’s efficiency.

Instead, he threw himself into the rhythm of their practised, seamless teamwork.

Pulling Mai to safety, Naru tried not to devote too much attention to cataloguing the rapid-fire progression of emotions that swept across her face. By the time she had settled on flustered, Lin held an unconscious priest in his arms and was preparing to carry him back to the base.

Naru took a moment to assess Maeda’s condition. No longer screaming, the high school girl was slumped in the dirt and tears ran freely down her face. Lin had also noticed the state she was in and rearranged his hold on John, offering Maeda his freed hand.

“Can you stand?”

Maeda nodded and Naru turned his attention back to Mai. She was unusually quiet and if he’d been anyone else he might have asked if she was alright. Instead, he set about freeing her from the torn cloth binding her wrists and ankles.

Mai looked up at him, all flushed, wide-eyed and sincere.

“Thank you.”

_You’re welcome._

Naru gave a sharp almost imperceptible nod and pressed his lips together in a hard line. His thoughts felt too awkward to voice. If he spoke, he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t provoke her simply to avoid revealing how unprepared he was for Mai’s brand of unrestrained, open affection.

“I knew you’d find me...”

Naru’s brow pinched. He was fairly certain Mai hadn’t meant for him to hear that last part and he wasn’t sure what to do with the information. He’d heard an echo of the same sentiment when he’d used psychometry on Mai’s charm.

_God, she was just so..._

_So..._

_...Incomprehensible_ , he settled on.

Naru couldn’t tell if he was annoyed at her for placing so much faith in her companions or pleased that she had deemed him worthy of such blind trust. He was also mildly irked with himself because he couldn’t immediately deny that Mai’s belief in him, no matter how dangerous her gamble, made him _happy_.

“Try to stay out of trouble next time.” He finally admonished, lifting Mai to her feet. She rubbed at her sore wrists and shot him a wide grin.

“I’ll be on my best behaviour.” Mai promised. He narrowed his eyes at her.

It was a boldfaced lie and they both knew it.

She beamed up at him, as if her smile was some kind of cure-all, get-out-of-jail-free card. He frowned, if only to stop himself from smiling back. Naru could have sworn Mai’s expression brightened at the action, like she knew she’d won.

Was he really so easy to read?

God, he hoped not.

Heading back to the base with Mai in tow, Naru pulled out his phone. Takigawa picked up on the second ring.

“Naru! Wha-”

“We’re on our way back to the base.” He paused, looking at Mai and thinking to add some reassurance. “All of us.”

“You found them?! Are they okay -”

He hung up.

The monk would see for himself soon enough and he didn’t want to have to explain it twice. Mai winced as she trailed along beside him and tried not to laugh. Naru looked at her in askance.

“Not all of us can communicate telepathically with you, like Lin.” She joked.

He bit back a smirk.

“You don’t seem to have too much trouble.”

 _...When it suits you_.

In some ways Mai reminded him of his mentor, Madoka. Mai was far less likely to solve problems via cunning, but they were both strong-willed, cheerful people who had a talent for bending others to their will (intentionally or otherwise).

What Mai may or may not notice about his behaviour probably reflected her own priorities. Occasionally he was sure she had played dumb for her own convenience, but for the most part he thought it was safe to assume that she hadn’t thought the matter important enough to require her attention in the first place.

“Well that’s just because I -” Mai coughed and made a slightly strangled noise before abruptly changing the subject. “So, now what?”

He raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour but didn’t call her on it.

“You tell me.”

She looked blankly at him. Of course she did. Mai never seemed to value her own input until her instincts kicked in hard and made the decision for her. ( _And there it was_ , Naru pointed out - it wasn’t something she considered a priority.)

He sighed. If it was a touch more theatrical than necessary, Mai was used to it. Sometimes the quickest way to get SPR’s members act together was a well-timed scoff or a pointed show of exasperation.

“Do I have to guess what you’ve been up to or are you going to tell me voluntarily?” He prodded. He hoped it sounded more put-upon than teasing.

“Oh!”

_Yes. “Oh.”_

Naru bit back an amused huff and resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. Mai still looked at him as if he _had_ , and it made Naru wonder why he bothered schooling his face around her in the first place.

How was it possible that she would often catch his subtle nuances but not what he considered to be overt requests for her thoughts?

One day Mai would learn to value herself the way she valued other people. Naru wasn’t sure how much more of her double standard he could endure before he said something he couldn’t take back.

He listened thoughtfully as she filled him in on the dreams she’d had. Once Mai tried to talk about what had happened with John however, her tone shifted, higher in pitch and breathless. Before long she was tripping over words.

Naru stopped her. “Breathe, Mai.”

He didn’t ask her anything else until they got back to base, but when they reached better lighting it was impossible to miss the bruising on her throat. He clenched his hands until his fingernails threatened to break his skin.

He’d arrived too late.

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

 

"I’ll make it so he can never separate us again."

Out of time and options, Naru seized the bloodied hand set on plunging the broken shard into Mai’s heart. Yamada writhed angrily, the glass cutting into John’s fingers as he fought uselessly against Naru’s iron grip.

Meeting the absolute fuckwit’s gaze, Naru made sure to communicate two simple facts. One, was that Naru was the most terrifying person Yamada would ever meet. The other was that he could hurt Mai over Naru’s cold. Dead. Body.

Yamada stupidly ignored the warning and continued to struggle.

Naru held fast, an immovable force.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of Mai yelling his name and Maeda’s hysterical screams. In the midst of the chaos a sharp, familiar whistle pierced the air.

_Lin._

Trust his guardian to turn up at both the best _and_ worst possible moment. Yes, he could admit that his assistance would be useful. No, he did not want the depreciating monologue that would inevitably follow.

 “Let’s face it,” Naru quipped, well aware of the decimated door and shattered glass he’d left in his wake. He was still holding back an unusually violent John, whose hands bled profusely.

“...This is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”

 


	12. If You Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you ArtzGromet!  
> (I may have leaned something. She only had to remove TWO COMMAS!!!!!)

“Good grief, look at you!" Ayako griped, muttering under her breath. "How you even find yourself in _half_ of these situations is what I’d like to know...”

John had come back unconscious, filthy, and bleeding. Mai's throat sported some disturbing bruises and she was covered in minor abrasions. Ayako had cleaned and treated their wounds as best she could for now, but John might need a tetanus shot and a few stitches. (Once he’d been exorcised, of course.)

 _One problem at a time_ , Ayako told herself.

Since Takigawa couldn’t be sure what would happen to John if he tried to exorcise him and John was their resident specialist, the job would fall to her. If she failed, Masako could try convincing the ghost to move on but Ayako didn’t like their chances.

Not after what he’d done to Mai.

Ayako wouldn’t blame Naru if he chose to evict Yamada’s spirit violently.

_I have half a mind to._

Forcefully shoving the contents of the first aid kit back in, she resolved to watch Mai like a hawk. That neck injury of hers was cause for concern, but Mai hadn’t passed out from the boy’s attempt to choke her. If at any point Ayako suspected that Mai's neck was more than bruised, she'd drag her sorry butt to the ER in a heartbeat.

Right now she was more concerned about the girl’s mental health than her physical condition.

Hell, she was worried about John’s too.

Naru had tried to kill her once, while possessed. There were times when she still had nightmares about it - dreams where friends stared at her without warmth or recognition.

Dreams where all she could do was run.

Naru had been so furious about having his will stripped away that he’d lashed out at the group, clashed with Mai and then nearly killed himself taking out the god that had dared use him like a puppet.

Lin had said in no uncertain terms that the reason they were still alive was because the entity had yet to figure out how to "use" Naru. He could have slaughtered them all and never even known.

She shuddered at the thought.

Fortunately, money and access to professional help was not something the renowned hospital heiress lacked. Ayako couldn’t confidently say the same for her companions, though Naru did pay Mai well above normal rates.

As the two women left the nurse’s office and made their way back to the base, Ayako wondered if one of her connections could squeeze them in, provided her co-workers were willing. It wasn’t the kind of thing Ayako normally did, but Mai and John were not exactly “normal” people. None of SPR's members were. That was part of the attraction.

She could make an exception if she wanted.

“Maybe a kitsune has a soft spot for you or something.” Ayako teased.

If one of their motley crew was a fox in disguise, her money was on Yasuhara. Mai had been good at running headlong into hot water long before meeting the exceptionally sharp boy, but Yasuhara _had_ claimed he was over two hundred years old, once. She hadn’t witnessed it but according to the monk it had been hilarious, if not mildly terrifying how well the “young man” pulled it off.

She had seen some pretty strange things. Ayako supposed that one of her co-workers being an age-old kitsune didn’t seem that far of a leap.

Who was she to judge? She’d been trained by a _tree_.

Mai cocked her head to the side. “Wouldn’t that mean I’d be less likely to find trouble?”

“Well, you find it but you always survive it somehow, don’t you.”

“That’s because of all of you.” Mai replied with a soft smile. Ayako flushed hotly, unused to praise that she didn’t assert herself. The action didn't go unnoticed, and Mai's pleased laughter sang down the quiet hallway.

_It should be illegal to be that cute._

SPR's members practically fell over themselves to keep her safe and it wasn't hard to see why. Mai radiated kindness and wasn't lacking in spunk. She stood up for who and what she believed in without fail.

In other words, it was hard not to like her.

Ayako suspected that even Masako's gripe with Mai was only partially born out of jealousy. Her affection towards her rival was begrudging but often held a sense of frustration that bordered on "how are you even real".

In Masako's defence, she was famous. Ayako knew from experience how money and power could put a damper on making genuine friendships. Mai didn't want anything from her. She didn't even feel it necessary to _like_ Masako in order to stand up for her, or even risk her life for her.

Of course Masako had absolutely no idea how to react to that.

“Damn right it is!" Ayako boasted on behalf of the group. "Now don’t go undoing all our hard work. A certain someone would be completely impossible without you around.”

Mai slumped forward with a depreciating groan.

“He’d just miss his tea.”

“What’s this?" Ayako mocked good-naturedly, relishing the small victory. "How do you know I wasn’t talking about Bou-san, hmmmm?”

Mai sent her a withering look. They both knew perfectly well who she'd meant. That was the _point_.

"Guess some people just prefer walking chaos over classy women like me," Ayako lamented with an over-the-top sigh, lips quirked in amusement. "There's no accounting for taste."

"Since when am I "walking chaos"?"

"Didn't you break Lin-san's leg the first time you met? That sounds pretty chaotic to me."

"That was _one time_!" Mai protested.

"Sure, just like a ceiling only fell on you _once_ ," Ayako drawled, starting to count incidents on her fingers, "and you've only fallen down a man hole _once_ , and -"

Mai interrupted her before she could list anything else. "Fine! I'm a disaster." She hissed, "Shut up before Naru overhears you and decides I'm not worth the effort."

"Weren't you listening? I'm pretty sure he's into that -"

Mai swatted blindly at her and looked down at the floor she like she was trying to become one with it. A strangled whine left her throat, followed by a series of noises that blurred the line between laughter and outright sobbing.

 _Good_ , Ayako thought. Mai needed the outlet.

She had been through a lot. No matter how strong Mai appeared or how easy she made bouncing back from a traumatic experience look, Ayako couldn't help but worry. If a little sass could help restore her sense of normality, she wouldn't hesitate to rib her a bit.

It made Mai feel safe.

So did Naru.

Kami, she wished the two of them would get their act together. The unresolved tension between them was maddening. If she had to watch them dance around each other for another two years she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions. Maybe she’d lock them in a closet until they had an epiphany. Maybe she’d push their heads together and order them to kiss.

Maybe she’d get fired for yelling at them to bone.

_Yeah, right._

If she tried anything of the sort, being fired would be the least of her worries. Naru and Mai were a force to be reckoned with individually, but if they combined their efforts? Both of them had tempers and Ayako didn't have a death wish.

"I wonder how John-san is doing..."

“His hands are a bit of a mess, but he’ll be back to normal soon.”

Mai visibly wilted, and Ayako cursed her lack of tact.

She didn't need to guess what kind of thoughts plagued her. Mai had tried to get John back to the base once she'd realised it wasn't her friend standing beside her anymore, but despite her best efforts, she still blamed herself.

"It's not your fault." Ayako pressed. "Yamada-san could have possessed anyone."

_Things don't always go to plan._

_You refused to leave John even though it put you in danger._

_You're a good friend. You didn't fail him._

_You've never failed any of us._

Mai sniffled, drying her eyes with her sleeve. "I know."

Ayako eyes softened, along with her heart.

"We're all here for you, you know that right?" She offered, taking Mai's hand with a gentle squeeze, "Even our big, scary boss."

"Ayako, isn’t he shorter than you?" Mai laughed, though her attempt at humour was somewhat dampened by the wetness of her cheeks and the way her voice shook.

"It's the heels." Ayako dismissed with a wave, following suit and lightening the mood. "If he wore shoes like mine he'd be nine times as intimating."

She stopped to consider the striking image. "Actually, that would be kind of hot."

"Nooooo, Ayako-saaaan!" Mai wailed, eyes darting around as if Naru were about to appear.

To be fair, it was the sort of thing he was prone to do.

Their boss rarely made any sound that he didn't fully intend to and among a group of admittedly rowdier individuals it was no wonder he had a knack for turning up during conversations unexpectedly.

"What, you don't think so?" Ayako grinned, throwing caution to the wind. They still had a way to go before they reached the base. Besides, if picturing Naru in hot red stilettos didn't lift Mai's spirits, she didn't know what would.

"It's that serious face of his. He could totally pull it off."

 

-x-

 

_God, he was tired._

Under Lin's watchful eye, Naru made an effort to not look as exhausted as he felt. It was safe to assume that Lin saw straight through the act but his pride refused to let him do any less.

Everyone was tired. It wasn't uncommon for SPR to work through the night depending on the circumstances, and right now the group's primary concern was getting John back in the driver's seat of his body. Some of their number would be able to rest if they wished, but Naru wouldn't be surprised if those on the sidelines chose to keep the required few company.

Takigawa had already begun to cleanse the reported incident locations. In a nearby classroom, Hara kept watch over John's restrained body while Maeda cleared aside desks and chairs in preparation for his exorcism.

Matsuzaki had her hands full treating Mai's wounds, and in the moments of silence before anyone returned to interrupt/save him, Lin struck.

"You already know what I'm going to say."

 _Here it comes_ , Naru thought - the guilt trip he'd hoped to avoid. Defiance sparked within him.

"Then why bother to repeat it?"

Lin held his gaze, wry and unfazed. "You know the answer to that, too."

Did he? Sometimes Naru wondered.

Logically he could accept that he was valued - loved, even. He just wasn't entirely sure _why_. He was powerful but so much so that it rendered him useless. He was a genius but being more intelligent than most people you met had its disadvantages. It was hard to relate or respect people who, at a fundamental level, were clearly incapable of understanding him.

_If it were Gene standing here instead of me..._

Naru understood why people loved Gene. He was a perfect medium. Everything about him had been geared towards forming connections with others, from the telepathic link between them to instinctively speaking to spirits in their native tongue.

He'd been Naru's link to the world.

Until Gene's death, he'd never been alone. He'd never needed anyone else. He didn't bother making connections with people he could hardly differentiate from pumpkins, not when his twin understood him on an incomparable level.

There were exceptions of course - Madoka, Lin, his adoptive parents, Martin and Luella - a scientist or a psychic here and there, whose name had been worth remembering.

None of them could read his mind. All of them required him to verbalise his thoughts.

Explaining things aloud always seemed to take so long in comparison to telepathy. So many things could be communicated at once via thought - a feeling, an association. A hundred tiny, collected details carried by one brief mental image.

Slowing the process down to a crawl and trying to ensure he'd passed on what others considered the bare minimum of information was beyond irritating at times and quite frankly, exhausting.

Secretly, Naru wondered if the reason losing him would hurt had less to do with losing him and more to do with feeling like they had lost Gene twice.

"There are people who would miss you if you weren't here."

 _Because I look like my brother_ , Naru grimaced.

Surely having a constant reminder of how Gene might have looked if he were still alive would be a torment. Naru didn’t understand.

“... _Why_?”

Why keep him around when all he could do was remind them of how much he _wasn’t_ Gene?

To his surprise, Lin smiled at him - a wide, genuine, Mai-level smile. Naru didn’t know Lin was capable of making an expression like that, let alone what might cause it to be aimed at _him_.

“If you have to ask, you’re not as smart as you think you are.”

“Mai would say that nobody is as smart as I think I am.” Naru dryly remarked.

Lin shot him an appraising look.

“Taniyama-san can be remarkably insightful.”

Lin’s lips curled around the words in a way that made Naru question his meaning. He couldn’t shake the impression that Lin’s amusement stemmed from something more than agreeing with Mai’s assessment.

Naru felt his face twitch.

This was why he avoided talking to people.

Crossing his arms, he decided that whatever Lin had found entertaining was irrelevant. He had other concerns – primarily an unconscious one with an unwelcome hitchhiker. Preparations for the exorcism itself wouldn’t take long, but Naru anticipated trouble and made sure to include some extra insurance in his plans.

Once there was little left to do but light some candles and configure their equipment, Matsuzaki approached him with a warning.

"I can't guarantee anything."

Was she was having second thoughts? Matsuzaki generally operated out of a sense of self-righteous spite, determined to prove to those who misjudged her how wholly unwise that was.

The easiest way to prompt her into action was to somehow imply that she wasn’t capable. She had a strong sense of pride and honour – she would defend a slight against either without a second thought.

"You'd prefer to leave him like this?"

She spluttered at the mere idea. "Of course not!"

But she had doubts.

Her worry was written in the angle of her shoulders and the stiffness of her stance. Naru bit back a sigh and reminded himself that it probably wasn’t fair to punish people for not being Gene.

Still, was his plan really that hard to work out?

How long did it take to add one and one together and get two? They had worked together for some time now; surely his methods were no longer a complete mystery.

"Why do you think I had you reinforce the base with protective charms?"

Matsuzaki immediately glanced at Mai, busily setting up cameras to both record and monitor the outcome of the exorcism. Naru had to admit that the miko wasn’t far off the mark, but there was more to his reasoning than wanting to keep Yamada as far away from Mai as possible.

"The fewer options Yamada-san has, the better."

She sobered at the thought before the implication sank in.

"I'll be on my _own_?!"

Naru could respect her apprehension. At least some of his employees had a healthy sense of self preservation.

He outright refused to acknowledge his own hypocrisy in that area.

"What's the matter," Takigawa teased, "aren't you used to that?"

Predictably, the miko smacked him. Naru tuned out their antics and fought the urge to drag a tired hand down his face. Their song and dance would bolster Matsuzaki’s courage, but at what _cost_?

"No more than you - I bet your band's groupies are only there for the singer and the lead guitarist. You're an acquired taste."

"So cruel!" The monk sang, clutching dramatically at his heart. "Mai-chan, you like me, don't you?"

The ragtag group really didn’t fear him at all, did they? Naru felt equal parts relieved and frustrated by their immunity. Acting under a pseudonym had its pros and cons.

"You've grown on me." Mai conceded, looking up from her work with a wicked grin. "Like a fungus."

If asked, might she say the same about him, Naru wondered? Would she make that expression while thinking of him?

God, he hoped so.

Naru swallowed thickly and willed himself to look unaffected.

"Did you hear that?" The monk gaped, affronted. He spun to accuse Matsuzaki. "Look at what you've done! I'm being shot down in my prime!"

"Well, you're being shot down at least..."

That was enough, Naru thought. If he didn’t stop them now, who knows how long the monk and miko would continue to bounce off each other. They had had their fun and there was a priest to save. He crafted his face into something suitably terrifying before commanding their attention.

"Are you _done_?" Naru ground out.

“I’ve finished setting up the cameras!” Mai helpfully supplied, knowing full well that the question had not been aimed at her. Naru gave the bickering duo a dark look.

_Be grateful._

_Not everyone has a guardian angel so diligent._

He gave an appeased nod for Mai’s benefit. "Everyone not needed here, head back to the base."

Naru ensured John’s restraints were still firmly in place. Satisfied, he left Matsuzaki to her work.

 

-x-

 

"I humbly ask for your aid.

Descend upon this unholy place and make it pure.”

 

It was dark, save for a soft golden glow.

Yamada’s head buzzed uncomfortably as he identified the light source. A miko knelt before him, candles either side of her. Flickering, the firelight glinted off the lens of a nearby camera.

Mai was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Exorcise this demon as you have so many before.

Listen both peacefully and calmly, and speak the Kannon's chant onto our wished place.”

 

He knew this woman. She was one of the people Mai trusted.

“Betrayer...” He hissed. “Mai...”

He twisted in pain, the buzzing in his head somehow so much worse than before. Contorting, Yamada tried to clutch at his head. The miko – she was trying to get rid of him. Every word she spoke tore a little deeper, stinging as it reached relentlessly for his core.

“Make it stop!”

He couldn’t move.

_It hurts..._

Screaming, he called out for Mai. He cursed at the chanting miko until his throat burned.

Yamada could barely feel it over the torture that ate at him as the woman continued to pray.

 

“Our plane is a vast, violent tundra.

Gods from all places, gather here.

Gods from all places, gather here.

Gods from all places, gather here.

Hail divine lord Marici, grace us with your presence and let your armour protect us."

 

The echo of a sharp “clap”.

His soul ripped from its hiding place.

Yamada felt no more.

 

-x-

 

“Is...Is he gone?”

Masako didn’t glance away from the monitors.

“No.”

Yamada appeared to be stunned, looking down at John’s body. He turned to the camera, expression seething.

Just in case she was the only one who could see him, Masako described what she saw, pointing at the relevant screen. “He’s looking right at us.”

The feed cut off, showing nothing but static.

Mai yelled out for John and Ayako. She tried to run for the door, but Naru blocked her path, gripping her shoulders as he barked orders.

“Lin! Bou-san! Get the two of them out of there!”

“Hara-san, if you see Yamada -”

“You’ll be the first to know.” Masako assured.

“...Mai.”

Naru said her name like he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Masako seethed. She couldn’t help but notice he had yet to let go of Mai’s shoulders.

“ _Stay_.”

Red faced, Mai imploded. “What am I, a _dog_?! Ayako-san and John-san are in danger -”

Masako wanted to throttle her rival. If Naru ever told her to stay with him, she’d cry from happiness. Then again, perhaps it was in her favour that Mai always assumed Naru was making fun of her.

She supposed ignorance wasn’t always bliss.

“Help from here.” Naru ordered, cutting through Mai’s tirade.

He stubbornly refused to let go of her, as if Mai would disappear the second he gave her a chance. Masako hated to admit it, but Naru’s concern was founded. Barring running head first into danger when people she cared for were threatened, Mai could be unpredictable. After the Urado case, they’d discovered that given the right motivation, there was nothing to stop Mai from astral projecting if she couldn’t physically reach those she wished to help.

It still shook Masako to the core, how far she had been willing to go for someone who made no secret of their dislike. She knew all too well how often she had sniped at Mai out of jealousy.

Just watching Naru direct Mai towards Lin’s work station made her feel like an outsider. She would have asked what was so special about the girl, but damn it, Masako already _knew_.

Why couldn’t Mai at least be easy to hate?

It wasn’t fair.

Calmer now, Naru’s hands no longer seemed to itch with the need to keep Mai near him. He didn’t need to. They stood impossibly close to each other, unaware of how intimate they appeared – Naru leaning over with an ear pressed to one half Lin’s headphones while Mai took note of the fluctuating temperature readings and waited for the camera feed to stop snowing.

Seconds later Ayako, Lin and Takigawa burst into the base carrying a bewildered John.

There hadn’t been time to untie him, but now they were in a fortified position, Takigawa made short work of the rope binding him.

“What happened to my hands?”

“You cut them on some broken glass,” Ayako offered. “Someone can fill you in while we get you properly checked out, hmm?”

John nodded. “Sounds good.”

Assessing his surroundings, the priest looked at Naru.

“...Unless you need me to do something about that ghost?”

“Only if you want a little payback.”

“I’ll survive.” John looked down at the state of his clothes. “But I think I’ll get changed first...”

Once the chaos had died down, Masako lent her assistance to anyone who needed to leave the base, watching for any sign of Yamada. Naru had reiterated the importance of not going anywhere alone and no one was in the mood to argue.

SPR had faced far worse situations, but that didn’t mean they were foolish enough to underestimate the danger. Humans were fragile creatures, after all.

As a medium devoted to helping spirits move on, Masako was faced with her own mortality more often than most. It was something she had in common with her co-workers.

Leaving John with Ayako and Lin, she returned to the base with Maeda and Takigawa. They had stopped to collect some bed rolls on their way back, so everyone could rest in the base, safe inside Ayako’s protective barrier.

That left Naru and Mai alone.

Masako would have screwed up her face in displeasure if either of her hands were free enough to hide her expression. As they reached the base, that desire grew stronger.

For all her irritability, she hadn’t actually expected anything of interest to occur in the short time Naru and Mai had been left to their own devices. At most, she’d thought Naru might get a little too close for even Mai to ignore and her rival would blush profusely before conveniently sabotaging herself.

_I was too naive._

She should have known better. It was common knowledge that Mai could fall asleep anywhere. Apparently that included _on Naru_. Mai had begun to slump and unaware of his audience, Naru took a moment to adjust her sleeping form into something more sustainable.

“Good job, Mai.”

His voice was rough from his earlier anger but Naru’s sincerity was unmistakable.

Masako wished she hadn’t heard it.

 

-x-

 

**_Omake:_ **

****

Kami, Ayako wished the two of them would get their act together. The unresolved tension between Naru and Mai was maddening. If she had to watch them dance around each other for another two years she couldn’t be held responsible for her actions. Maybe she’d lock them in a closet until they had an epiphany. Maybe she’d push their heads together and order them to kiss for a Very Long Time ™.

Maybe she’d get fired for yelling at them to bone.

Ayako could picture it now. Mai and Naru in a heated exchange, trying to keep their hands to themselves while “arguing” and failing miserably.

“Will the two of you just bone already?”

Both parties freeze, looking at her in wide eyed shock. They’re still unashamedly touching each other.

“What did you say?”

She’d take a deep, satisfying breath. (It might very well be her last.) “I said, “will you two just _bone_ ”!”

Spluttering, waving hands, denial.

“How _dare you -_ ”

Mai flushes.

Naru retreats.

Twenty-one minutes later, SPR is treated to one long, seemingly unending scream emerging from their CEO’s office.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNE!!!”

Ayako smiled.

It might almost be worth it.


End file.
